Kotdwar
The hearing of the famous Ankita Bhandari murder case was completed in a local court in Kotdwar and the verdict will be pronounced on 30 May. Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi heard the last debate between the defense and the prosecution. Prosecution advocate Anuj Pundir said that after hearing the arguments of both the parties, the judge has fixed May 30 to pronounce the verdict. The hearing of the case lasted for two years and eight months and during this time 47 witnesses including the prosecution officer were produced by the prosecution.
19 -year -old Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Yamkeshwar in Pauri district, was allegedly killed by resort operator Pulkit Arya on 18 September 2022 along with his two employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta. According to the prosecution, there was a dispute between Ankita and Pulkit over something. After which Pulkit, along with Bhaskar and Gupta, allegedly pushed Ankita in Rishikesh’s Chila Canal. After finding Ankita’s body from the canal, the police arrested the three and sent them to jail.
Pulkit is the son of Vinod Arya, the then leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As soon as the matter came to light, the party showed Arya the way out. After the matter came to light, the local people took to the road and the state government had to constitute a special investigation team to investigate the matter to pacify the people. At the same time, the government had also announced to punish the accused.
