Latest news with #VanantaraResort
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
Uttarakhand: Ex-BJP minister's son, two others sentenced to life imprisonment in Ankita Bhandari murder case
DEHRADUN: A court in Uttarakhand on Friday sentenced all the three accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case to life imprisonment. The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi in Kotdwar found the three accused - Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta - guilty of murder under sections 302 (Murder), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence), 120B (Criminal conspiracy), and 354 (Use of criminal force against a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Notably, the prime accused, Pulkit Arya, is the son of a former BJP Minister of Uttarakhand. Besides awarding life term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the convicts. The court ordered the convicts to pay Rs 4 lakh to Ankita's family. The case dates back to September 2022, when Bhandari, a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district, was brutally murdered. The shocking case first came to light on September 18, 2022, following the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari. She was employed as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort, located in the Yamkeshwar area of Pauri district. Her body was later thrown into the Cheela Shakti Canal and recovered approximately a week later, triggering widespread outrage. Prior to her murder, Ankita, a resident of Pauri Garhwal, had reportedly expressed concerns about the resort's activities and her own safety.
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Ex-BJP leader's son, 2 others convicted for killing Uttarakhand hotel receptionist
An Uttarakhand court on Friday convicted Pulkit Arya, the son of a former BJP leader, and two others — Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta — for the 2022 murder of 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Additional District and Sessions Court in Kotdwar held all three accused guilty of killing Ankita, who worked at the Vanantara Resort owned by Pulkit Arya in the Yamkeshwar area of Pauri had gone missing on September 18, 2022. Days later, her body was recovered from the Chilla canal, and the incident rapidly turned into a national flashpoint over women's safety, political influence, and justice delivery. Allegations of a botched early investigation and political shielding further inflamed public anger.A Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a 500-page chargesheet, naming 97 witnesses, 47 of whom were deposed during the trial that began on March 28, Arya and two other accused were charged under Bharat Naya Sanhita sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 354A (sexual harassment), and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. Later, Gangster Act was also invoked against the three Arya, the son of now-suspended BJP leader Vinod Arya, is accused of pressuring Ankita Bhandari to provide 'special service' to clients at the ahead of the court's verdict, Ankita's mother urged the judiciary to sentence all the three accused to death. "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 while speaking to news agency Reel
