- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
As the death of Ankita Bhandari completes one year today, many loose ends in the probe have prompted people to take up the trend #justiceforankitabhandari across social media platforms. 19-year-old Bhandari was a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Ganga-Bhogpur in Uttarakhand’s Pauri District. Her body was recovered by police six days after she went missing from her workplace.
The incident:
Ankita Bhandari on September 18, last year, did not respond to her parents’ call. Her family members reached Vanantra Resort, where she was employed as a receptionist, and couldn’t find her in the room either. Her father Pushap Deep became suspicious as she had earlier told him about the harassment she used to face at the workplace. As per reports, she was often pressurised to offer ‘extra services’ to the VIP guests. Owing to the apprehensions, her father got a missing complaint registered with the nearest police station.
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The probe and arrest of the accused:
Nothing significant was done for the initial two days and it wasn’t until the case was transferred to another police station that three persons were arrested in the case. The accused--Pulkit Arya (the hotel owner and key accused), the hotel's manager, Ankit Gupta, and Pulkit's friend, Saurabh Bhaskar after interrogation confessed their crime while divulging the details. They told Ankita had an altercation with Pulkit and they were going to a distant location to confabulate over the contention. The fracas grew after which they pushed her into Chilla Canal. Notably, Pulkit Arya is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya.
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An SIT was formed to probe the case. However, the family of the victim and locals demanded a CBI investigation. In December last year, a 500-page chargesheet was submitted against the three accused. The three were charged with murder, destruction of evidence, and immoral trafficking
Loose ends:
-The resort was razed and torched by some unknown persons the same night. Initially, it was believed that the government did the act to penalise the culprits but later the DM denied any involvement of the government. Anything about the incident hasn’t yet come to the fore. The family of Bhandari alleged that the act was done to destroy evidence.
Vanatara resort, owned by BJP leader Vinod Arya's son Pulkit Arya who is an accused in Ankita Bhandari murder case, was demolished, in Rishikesh. ANI File
- Ankita’s family initially refused to perform her last rites but they agreed after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami assured them that the trial would happen in a fast-track court, which never happened actually.
Last rites of Ankita Bhandari being performed at NIT Ghat, Srinagar, in Pauri Garwhal. ANI File
- The names of VIPs, for whom special service was sought from Ankita, were never revealed.