• Source:JND
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A Uttarakhand court on Friday sentenced all three accused to life imprisonment in the 2022 murder case of 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Bhandari in Pauri district. The accused, Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta, were found guilty of Ankita's murder by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand. However, the sentence for the three accused is yet to be formally announced, Ankita's lawyer Ajay Pant said.

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Pulkit Arya, owner of the Vanantara resort near Rishikesh, along with his employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, has been convicted of the murder of Ankita Bhandari, who was killed on September 18, 2022.

The prosecution stated that Ankita Bhandari had a dispute with Pulkit Arya, son of now-expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, after which he, along with his two employees, pushed her into a canal. Her body was recovered on September 24, 2022, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of all three accused.

Mother of Ankita Bhandari, Soni Devi, breaks down while remembering her daughter. At the Kotdwar court, which is set to pronounce its verdict today in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, her mother Soni Devi said, "May the criminals be sentenced to death. I appeal to the public of Uttarakhand to keep on supporting us and come to the Kotdwar court to boost our morale"

The trial began on January 30, 2023. Following an investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the prosecution submitted a 500-page chargesheet to the court. The charges were formally framed, and the prosecution began presenting its case on March 28, 2023.

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During the proceedings, the court reportedly examined 47 witnesses, including the lead investigator.