Justice for Ankita Bhandari: Court Convicts Pulkit, Saurabh and Ankit
Kotdwar (The Uttam Hindu): The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge of Kotdwar has pronounced its verdict in the Ankita Bhandari murder case today. The court has convicted the main accused Pulkit Arya and his two accomplices, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, for the murder of Ankita. However, the punishment of the three accused is yet to be announced. Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, was murdered on 18 September 2022.
During the investigation of this sensational case, the SIT (Special Investigation Team) had filed a 500-page charge sheet in the court, in which a total of 97 witnesses were named. The prosecution produced 47 of these witnesses before the court.
Ankita Bhandari, a resident of Srinagar Garhwal, was a receptionist at Vanantara Resort near Rishikesh. She was murdered on 18 September 2022 and her body was dumped in the Cheela canal. According to the chargesheet filed by the SIT in the court, Pulkit Arya along with his two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, committed this heinous crime.
The hearing of this case lasted for two years and eight months. During this time, the prosecution presented a total of 47 witnesses including the investigation officer. The investigation revealed that Ankita had a quarrel with Pulkit Arya, after which Pulkit, along with Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, allegedly pushed Ankita into the Cheela canal in Rishikesh.
After Ankita's body was recovered from the canal, the police arrested the three accused and sent them to jail. Pulkit Arya is the son of Vinod Arya, the then leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the party immediately expelled Vinod Arya from the party. After the incident came to light, there was a lot of anger among the local people, after which the state government had to form a special investigation team to calm the people and ensure a fair investigation. The government also promised to give the harshest punishment to the accused.