Uttarakhand government sacks Namdhari

Uttarakhand Minority Commission chairman Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, who was present during the shootout in which liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother were killed, was removed from his post Tuesday.
     
The state government has ordered removal of Namdhari from the minority panel in public interest after his integrity was found to be in doubt, state Minority Welfare Secretary M H Khan said here.
    
Fourteen criminal cases out of which two are of serious nature have come to surface against Namdhari during the course of investigations into his antecedents, he said.
    
Namdhari's antecedents were being probed ever since his links with Chadha came to light after the farmhouse shootout during which the Minority panel chief was present along with his PSO who allegedly shot at Ponty's brother Hardeep in retaliation during the cross-fire.
     
Namdhari was appointed the State Minority Commission chairman during the BJP regime in 2010 and his tenure was to be over next year.
     
Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna told reporters at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh that action would be taken against Namdhari soon.
     
On Monday, Bahuguna had said the state government would find a out to remove him.