Young girl Ankita Bhandari was reported to be missing on September 18. If the police have to be believed then as per their statements, she went to Rishikesh that night around 8 o’clock with BJP leader’s son Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and another accused named Ankit, alias Pulkit Gupta. While on their way back, they took a break to drink by a canal along Chila Road and Ankita waited for them. After some time, an argument took place between the three and the girl. The girl accused the three men of carrying out unlawful activities at the resort owned by Pulkit Arya and warned them to go public. The argument soured to such a level that the guys decided to teach her a lesson.
Those three men pushed the girl into the canal. Hours before her murder, Ankita had called the chef of the resort; Manveer Singh Chauhan sobbing Ankita had called Manveer and had asked him to bring her bag. But when one of the staff went with the bag, he couldn’t find Ankita. She was last seen on September 18 around 3 pm at the resort. Based on the missing complaint, an FIR was registered three days later, on September 21. While investigating the whole case, police grabbed the resort owner and his associates.
Initially, the accused tried to mislead police but they confessed to the crime when they were given the third degree. The father of the girl alleged that the girl was molested by the accused and the audio of the incident had been recorded. -Ankita reportedly told one of her close friends that the owner and managers of the resort where she worked were mounting pressure on her to provide ‘special services’ to clients. She told her friend on WhatsApp that though she is poor, she wouldn’t sell herself for Rs 10,000.
Ankita Bhandari’s autopsy report revealed that she died due to drowning. Here’s what we know so far. Law will never take its course; culprits will roam scot-free in just a matter of days. As usual like any other murder and rape this time Uttarakhand’s Pauri district has sparked massive outrage across the country. The developments have led to a spate of protests and agitations in the state. Central party leaders are worried over protests and agitation against Dhami. It is also being said that the state has not seen such protests since the agitation seeking separation from Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, BJP-ruled states have failed on Modi’s favourite slogan “Beti Bachao”. Ankita also told her friend how one of the resort guests hugged her in a drunken state. The victim was however intimidated into silence by one of the co-accused Ankit Gupta, who worked as the assistant of Pulkit Arya.
The mother of Ankita has claimed her daughter was hastily cremated, and she never got to see her body. She has accused the administration of tricking her into going to a hospital on the pretext of taking her to her daughter. News reports had earlier said the mother was admitted to a hospital as she was unwell. However, a video has now surfaced where she has claimed she was fine and was ferried to a hospital on a false pretext. She said she kept asking where they were taking her, and they reassured her, saying they were taking her to her daughter.
Narrating her ordeal, she said four-five people had come to her and said they would take her to the cremation site. They tricked her into going there. She was sitting at the civic body’s office. That was just for camera purposes; finally, she got betrayed by the authorities. The teen receptionist was cremated amid massive protests against the police for alleged slow action. The family had also raised questions about the government’s action in the case.
The family and protestors had initially refused to cremate the body, questioning the demolition of the resort where she worked. They said it was an attempt to destroy evidence in the case, in which the son of a senior BJP leader — now expelled — is the prime accused.
In the meantime, Uttarakhand CM Dhami is also under fire over charges of corruption and irregularities in government recruitments. Demanding action against him, his detractors have also registered complaints against him with the central leadership. Allegations of corruption have been levelled against the state government in the recruitment and allocation of contracts.
