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Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Ankita Bhandari murder case: Uttarakhand ex-minister's son, 2 others get lifer
Dehradun: An Uttarakhand court on Friday sentenced the three convicts to life imprisonment in the sensational Ankita Bhandari murder case in Pauri district in 2022. Additional District and Session Judge, Kotdwar, Reena Negi held Pulkit Arya, resort owner and son of a former BJP leader, and his two associates, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, guilty of murdering Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort located in Yamkeshwar. The court held the trio guilty under penal provisions dealing with murder (IPC Section 302), offence committed by an enforcing authority (Section 210b) and causing disappearance of evidence (Section 201). According to the police, Ankita,19, was killed on September 18, 2022 and her body was dumped in Chilla canal in Rishikesh, from where it was retrieved about six days after she went missing. According to the prosecution, Ankita and Pulkit Arya had a dispute over something, after which the man, along with Bhaskar and Gupta, allegedly pushed the woman into the canal. Resort owner Pulkit is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya who was a minister in the Uttarakhand government till 2021. The case had made national headlines after the local people came out and protested over the murder as the law enforcement agencies were dragging their feet on the probe into the murder. On Friday, the court resembled a fortress due to heightened security, with only lawyers and family members of the victim and convicts allowed to attend the proceedings. A ring of no-entry zone of 200 metre was also thrown around the court complex. The BJP had sacked Vinod Arya from the party after the controversy and the Uttarakhand government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. The Uttarakhand court completed its hearing in the case on Monday, examining 47 witnesses during the hearing that lasted two years and eight months. On May 19, after hearing the closing arguments of both sides, the Judge had fixed May 30 as the date for pronouncing the verdict. According to the prosecution, Ankita Bhandari and Pulkit Arya had a dispute over something, after which the man, along with Bhaskar and Gupta, allegedly pushed the woman into the Cheela canal in Rishikesh. After Ankita Bhandari's lifeless body was fished out of the Cheela canal, the three men were arrested by the police and sent to prison. Fearing leniency for the accused and his accomplices due to his political connections, the residents of Pauri district came out in large numbers to protest, and the Uttarakhand government formed a SIT to probe the matter and take the case to its logical conclusion.
India Gazette
2 days ago
- India Gazette
"Verdict sends a message that crime never pays off": Uttarakhand CM lauds conviction in Ankita Bhandari murder case
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], May 31 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday welcomed the conviction of the three accused in the high-profile Ankita Bhandari murder case, stating that the verdict sends a strong message that 'crime never pays off.' He reaffirmed the government's commitment to ensuring that no criminal is spared, regardless of status or influence. 'Today's verdict sends a message that crime never pays off... No matter who a criminal is in Uttarakhand, the law will not spare him/her,' Dhami said here. Talking about the investigation into the murder case, the Chief Minister said that from day one, the state government resolved to bring justice to the victim and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a female IPS officer. 'The day we got information about this case, we resolved to bring justice to her (the victim)... The state government immediately directed the investigative agencies to arrest the accused, and so they were arrested. An SIT headed by a female IPS officer was formed, and an investigation was conducted in detail. The case was in court, and due to the investigation, the accused could not get bail. In about 3 years, they got life imprisonment,' he added. On Friday, an Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand found Pulkit Arya and his associates, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. The court pronounced the verdict after a thorough trial, which upheld the charges against the trio, who were found guilty of the brutal murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari. Bhandari, a resident of Pauri district, was employed at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh. It was alleged that the resort owner, Pulkit Arya, along with Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, murdered her by pushing her into a nearby barrage. Earlier, while speaking to ANI, the victim's mother, Soni Devi, broke down in grief and urged the people of Uttarakhand to continue supporting the family and demanding capital punishment for the convicts. 'May the criminals be sentenced to death...I appeal to the public of Uttarakhand to keep on supporting us and come to the Kotdwar court to boost our morale,' she said. The body of Ankita Bhandari was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24. She was reported missing for at least six days before the officials found her body. An SIT headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi was initially probing the case. The first hearing of the case started on January 30, 2023, in the ADJ Court in Kotdwar. Following the SIT's investigation, a 500-page chargesheet was submitted to the court. Charges were then formally framed against the three accused. In the hearing that lasted for about two years and eight months, 47 witnesses, including the investigator, were examined in the court on behalf of the prosecution. However, the SIT had made 97 witnesses in this case, out of which only 47 important witnesses were produced in the court. (ANI)
India Gazette
3 days ago
- India Gazette
Ankita Bhandari Murder Case: Court orders Rs 4 lakh fine as compensation to victim's parents
Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) [India], May 30 (ANI): After the Additional District Judge (ADJ) court in Kotdwar pronounced life imprisonment to all three accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, Advocate Avnish Negi, lawyer representing the victim, on Friday said that the prosecution presented 47 witnesses in the case and the court has ordered accused to pay Rs 4 lakh fine to victim's parents as compensation. 'On the appeal of the prosecution, a fine of Rs 4 lakhs was ordered to be paid to the victim's parents as compensation. The full judgment is yet to come... We had presented forty-seven witnesses,' Negi, who represented Ankita and was appointed by the government, told ANI. He informed that the court has granted life imprisonment to all three accused under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 'All three accused have been sentenced to life imprisonment. They have been convicted under Section 302 and sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50, three have been punished and charged under the relevant section of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956, which provides jail time of five years and life imprisonment under sections 302 and 201,' Negi added. In a significant verdict, the ADJ court in Kotdwar has sentenced all three accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case--resort owner Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta--to life imprisonment. The Additional District and Sessions Judge Court Kotdwar in Uttarakhand convicted the trio under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 302 (murder), Section 201 (destruction of evidence), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 354A (sexual harassment), and provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. The court pronounced the verdict after a thorough trial, confirming the charges against the trio. Earlier, the accused were found guilty of the brutal murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at a resort in Rishikesh, whose case had sparked widespread outrage across the state. While speaking to ANI, the victim's mother, Soni Devi, broke down in grief, urging the people of Uttarakhand to continue supporting the family and demanding capital punishment for those accused in the case that shook the state in 2022. Ankita Bhandari, a resident of the Pauri district, used to work at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh. It is alleged that the resort owner, Pulkit Arya and his associates, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit, had murdered Ankita by pushing her into the barrage. The body of Ankita Bhandari was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24. She was reported missing for at least six days before the officials found her body. An SIT headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi was initially probing the case. The first hearing of the case started on January 30, 2023, in the ADJ Court in Kotdwar. After the SIT investigation, a 500-page chargesheet was filed in the court by the prosecution regarding this murder. After the charges were framed against the three accused of this sensational murder, Vanantra Resort owner Pulkit Arya, his employee Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, the testimony of the prosecution started from March 28, 2023. In the hearing that lasted for about two years and eight months, 47 witnesses, including the investigator, were examined in the court on behalf of the prosecution. However, the SIT had made 97 witnesses in this case, of which only 47 important witnesses were produced in the court. (ANI)
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First Post
3 days ago
- First Post
Ankita Bhandari's killers get life term: How Uttarakhand receptionist was killed for refusing to 'serve' VIPs
A court in Uttarakhand's Pauri found three men guilty in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case. The 19-year-old, who was working as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort, was killed by the resort owner, Pulkit Arya, and his employees – Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta. She was murdered for refusing to provide 'special services' to some guests read more 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. It 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. Congress leader Harish Rawat with party workers takes part in a march demanding justice for Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in September 2022, in Dehradun, January 17, 2024. File Photo/PTI 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. #WATCH | Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand | The three accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, are being taken to jail after the Kotdwar Court sentenced the three accused to rigorous life imprisonment — ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2025 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
Ankita Bhandari murder case: Court give life imprisonment to three accused
A court of Additional District Judge (ADJ) in Uttarakhand's Pauri district on Friday sentenced three accused to life imprisonment in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case. Ankita Bhandari (19) worked at Vanantra Resort, in Yamkeshwar of Pauri district, as a receptionist. She was murdered by the resort owner, Pulkit Arya (the son of now expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya), and two of his employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, on September 18, 2022, news agency PTI reported. The three were convicted under multiple sections, including Section 302 (murder), Section 201 (destruction of evidence), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 354A (sexual harassment), and provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. Reports suggest that Ankita was pushed into the barrage by the resort owner and his two employees. Bhandari was reported missing for at least six days before her body was recovered on September 24 from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh. The incident triggered protests by locals seeking justice for the 19-year-old victim. Following the intensified protests, the Uttarakhand government formed a special investigation team to probe the murder. Parts of the resort where Ankita worked were also demolished in an order passed by the authorities, alleging some structures were constructed illegally. Investigation revealed that Bhandari and Arya, the main accused, had a dispute over something, following which the three accused pushed her into a barrage. Speaking to ANI, the victim's mother urged the people of Uttarakhand to support their family in seeking capital punishment for those accused in the case. She said, 'May the criminals be sentenced to death...I appeal to the public of Uttarakhand to keep on supporting us and come to the Kotdwar court to boost our morale.' The hearing of the case began in January 2023 in the ADJ court in Kotdwar. The prosecution filed a 500-page chargesheet in the court. In a trial that lasted nearly two years, the court examined 47 witnesses out of the 97 witnesses listed. (With agency inputs)
