Ponty Chadha case: Cong asks CM how Namdhari became minority panel head

The ruling Congress in Uttarakhand on Monday asked Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to order a probe to find out on whose recommendation Sukhdev Singh Namdhari was made chairman of the state minorities commission.

"The chief minister should institute a probe and find out how a man with antecedents like Namdhari was made the head of the state minority panel," Pradesh Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said.

Soon after Namdhari's name cropped up in connection with Ponty Chadha murder case, he was sacked as Uttarakhand Minorities Commission Chairman by the state government on grounds of "doubtful integrity."

A BJP member, Namdhari was made the minority panel head during the party's government in the state in 2010. He was to complete his tenure early next year.

Namdhari has been arrested by the Delhi police which is looking into his association with the slain liquor baron who was killed along with his brother Hardeep in a shootout at a farmhouse in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the former state minority panel chief was expelled on Monday from the BJP.

"Namdhari has been expelled from the party following his arrest in connection with the Chattarpur farmhouse shootout in which Chadha and his brother were killed," state BJP chief Bishan Singh Chufal said.

Even otherwise, he was not an active member of the party, Chufal said.