Armani suits, a fleet of high-end cars, a luxurious ten-acre farmhouse in Delhi's posh Chhattarpur boasting the mandatory aviary and a life-size gold-plated statue of Bajrangbali; Ponty Chadha exhibited all the lifestyle markers of a man who built a 10-billion dollar empire from scratch. Naturally, this incredible wealth had to be protected from foes, of which the liquor baron-turned-real estate tycoon had many.

Although he had a veritable army of private security guards, at least 35 in number, he called on Delhi Commissioner of Police Neeraj Kumar to ask for more on account of a threat to his life. However, he did not make the request in writing or state the reasons for his threat perception. Less than a fortnight later, he was shot dead, allegedly during a shootout with his brother, Hardeep.

The manner of Gurdeep “Ponty” Chadha's death is still a mystery: did he and his brother shoot each other over a piece of property that was less than peanuts as compared to his net worth? Investigations are still underway, but the irony is that he died violently at a time when he was trying to get past the money-and-muscle taint of the liquor trade and emerge as a philanthropist-industrialist.

The 55-year-old, like many nouveau riche who occupy the grey zone between celebrity and notoriety, exhibited religious leanings. He kept a volume of Sikh scriptures close at hand and made a point of dipping into it from time to time. He took to philanthropy, running a school for children with special needs and renovating places of worship.

Whether it was his inner promptings or the growing public intolerance for crony capitalism or simply a desire to leave his carpetbagger image behind, Chadha had embarked on a drive towards respectability. A stranglehold on the liquor business in UP might be lucrative but it did not bring repute. Reminiscent of the Corleones in The Godfather, the Chadhas started moving into legitimate businesses. These thrived under political patronage.

The surviving brother, Rajinder, is believed to be the financial wiz who oversaw Ponty's liquor business, which includes India's largest brewery, while his son Monty (Manpreet) supervised the diversification into real estate, shopping malls, sugar mills, film production and distribution, education and food wholesale.

hadha's quick rise under political patronage from Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh and Amarinder Singh and Prakash Singh Badal in Punjab naturally attracted the attention of the income tax department, but raids conducted on 25 of his premises earlier this year came to naught.

His Wave group has vast real estate holdings, not to mention sugar mills acquired at throwaway prices courtesy Mayawati. He also secured a Rs 9,000 crore contract for supply of mid-day meals to children from the UP government and was planning a foray into power. He had been lobbying for the resurrection of the now defunct Uttar Pradesh Development Council, membership of which would put him in the league of blue-blooded corporate heads.

Monty, a high school dropout, inherited both his father's lack of academic application and business acumen. He scouted for international talent and with it, launched a high-tech poultry venture and low-budget housing. The group is also believed to have invested in vast landholdings in Africa.

Friends are impressed at how well Monty has taken the tragedy in his family. He is already back at work, aware that he will have to bear the burden of managing the group and carrying forward the ventures initiated by his father.