Ankita Bhandari murder case: Lawyers refuse to represent Pulkit Arya; bail hearing deferred

Kotdwar/New Delhi: Lawyers in Kotdwar district court on Wednesday refused to defend former BJP minister’s son Pulkit Arya and the two other accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. Consequently, no hearing for the bail of the three accused could take place. As per reports, the decision to not defend Vanantara resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta was taken unanimously by the Kotdwar Bar Association. Earlier, the lawyers body had met and decided that no lawyer would be representing the accused in the Ankita Bhandari’s murder case. Meanwhile, the remand counsel, who was appointed to the three accused by the legal authority in Uttarakhand to file their bail application, has also withdrawn from the case. “I was not his personal advocate. The legal authority gives every under-trial criminal, a lawyer from the government counsels’ panel to file for them initially. Therefore, I had filed a bail application on behalf of the accused. However, taking into consideration the public outcry and the gravity of the allegations against the three accused, I have withdrawn that bail application as well,” said Jitendra Rawat, remand lawyer provided to Pulkit and other accused. The bail plea was supposed to be presented before Bhavna Pandey, Judicial Magistrate 1 in Kostwar District court. The matter will now come up for hearing on October 6, when the judicial custody of the three accused will get over. Ajay Kumar Pant, president of the Kotdwar Bar Association, said he will be filing a plea seeking for the police remand for Pulkit Arya and others when the matter will be heard next. “I will be presenting the Special Investigative Team’s findings before the court and will make sure we get police remand for the accused, the next time matter is heard so that more facts related to the circumstances in which Ankita was murdered can be found.” Ankita Bhandari, 19, was allegedly murdered by Vanantara resort owner Pulkit Arya. She had joined the resort as receptionist, but had gone missing on September 19. Her body was later recovered from a nearby canal. Pulkit Arya is said to have been pushing Ankita Bhandari into prostitution at the resort and had allegedly been killed after she had refused. (With inputs from agencies) Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.