 "Ankita Bhandari was murdered in September 2022. File Photo/News18 Hindi")
A court in Uttarakhand’s Pauri has sentenced three men to rigorous life imprisonment in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case. Pulkit Arya, son of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya, and his two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were found guilty of murder on Friday (May 30).
Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on all three convicts, prosecution lawyer Ajay Pant reportedly said. The murder case had sparked a huge outrage in Uttarakhand, leading to the BJP expelling Vinod Arya from the party.
But what had happened? We will explain.
Ankita Bhandari murder case
Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed by the resort owner, Pulkit Arya, and his employees – Bhaskar and Gupta – on the night of September 18, 2022.
According to the police, Pulkit killed Ankita, a resident of Dobh-Srikot village in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, after she declined to provide “special services” to some guests at the resort.
After a heated exchange with Pulkit, Ankita was reportedly forced into a vehicle and later pushed into the Chilla canal.
Her body was found in the canal on September 24, after the three accused confessed to the crime.
How Ankita Bhandari was killed
Ankita’s disappearance was first noticed by her friend, Pushp, who said she had called him on the night of September 18.
Ankita reportedly told him that she was being pressured by the accused to “provide special services for a VIP” in exchange for Rs 10,000.
It was Pushp who had told her about an opening at a resort in Rishikesh, which Ankita agreed to join. She became a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Pauri district’s Yamkeshwar in August 2022.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt was not even a month into her job and Ankita was murdered.
Pushp told the court that he had last spoken to Ankita at 8:32 pm and she was “sensing some fear” while in the presence of the accused. Her phone became unreachable after that.
Pushp contacted Pulkit directly, who told him that Ankita had gone to her room.
The next morning, Pulkit’s phone was also unreachable. Pushp and Ankita’s family then approached the police, reported NDTV.
“The accused wanted to speak to the father of the deceased… (and) the deceased was further troubled due to this reason. One morning, the deceased was found missing from the resort. She was not in her room. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused was molesting the deceased in the resort; they were pressuring her to give extra services to the guest, to which the deceased was not agreeable,” Indian Express reported, citing the FIR filed in the case.
“The applicant (Ankit Gupta) and the co-accused had a sense of fear that perhaps the deceased might reveal it to others. According to the prosecution, on 18.09.2022, the applicant, along with the co-accused, took the deceased out of the resort, they killed the deceased and pushed her into a canal. The dead body of the deceased was recovered on 24.09.2022.”
Her post-mortem conducted by AIIMS Rishikesh revealed drowning as the cause of death. It also showed multiple injuries, including blunt force trauma that indicated physical assault, as per NDTV. Her viscera samples were also tested and did not show signs of sexual assault.
Public outrage over Ankita Bhandari case
The initial investigation into Ankita Bhandar’s murder case has raised many questions.
The night she was killed, the accused told the local Patwari (revenue police officer) that she was missing. However, the officer did not file a case.
The Vanantra Resort, located in a semi-rural area, falls outside the jurisdiction of regular police.
Patwari Vaibhav Pratap did not disclose the case to anyone and went on leave, as per the Indian Express report.
As pressure from the public mounted and suspicion from Ankita’s family and friends rose, the case was transferred to the regular police three days after her killing.
After the case gained national limelight, the police arrested Pulkit, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.
The district administration also razed a part of the resort , leading to allegations that it was done to “destroy” crucial evidence, reported Indian Express.
After Pulkit’s arrest, Uttarakhand BJP expelled his father, Vinod, and elder brother from the party.
Vinod Arya had served as a minister of state in the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government.
The politician had defended his son, calling him a “simple boy”. “Seedha sadha balak hai (he is a simple boy). He is only concerned about his work. I want justice for both my son Pulkit and Ankita Bhandari,” Arya had said, inviting a severe backlash.
The Uttarakhand government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.
Patwari Vaibhav Pratap was arrested by the SIT for negligence and allegedly siding with the accused. During the SIT probe, former employees are said to have alleged that Pulkit and Ankit Gupta frequently brought women to the resort. They also alleged that the female staff were subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
More than 100 individuals, including resort employees, digital forensic experts and friends of Ankita, were interviewed.
In December 2022, the prosecution filed a 500-page chargesheet.
The case’s hearing went on for two years and eight months, during which 47 witnesses were examined.
Ankita Bhandari’s family gets justice
On Friday, Pulkit was found guilty of IPC sections 302 (murder), 201 (concealing evidence), 354A (molestation and outraging the modesty of a woman) and the Immoral Trafficking Act. The accused Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were convicted of murder, concealing evidence, and the Immoral Trafficking Act.
Reacting to the verdict, Ankita’s mother, Soni Devi, broke down and said, “I request that the accused be hanged.” She also urged the people of Uttarakhand to continue supporting them.
With inputs from agencies