Uttarakhand cops recreate receptionist murder crime scene, quiz revenue official

The accused were taken one by one to the Vanantara resort and the Chill canal, from where the girl’s body was recovered on September 24

The special investigation team (SIT) of the Uttarakhand police probing the murder of Vanantara resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari, recreated the crime scene on Friday evening, said a senior official, not wishing to be named.

The Vanantara resort receptionist was allegedly killed by the resort’s owner and two other staff after she resisted their attempts to force her into prostitution. (PTI FIle Photo)

The accused Pulkit Arya, the resort’s owner and the son of the now expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya, and two staff members of Vanantara were taken one by one to the property located in Ganga Bhogpur Talla in the Yamkeshwar area of Pauri Garhwal district and to the Chill canal, from where the girl’s body was recovered on September 24, the official added.

The 19-year-old receptionist was allegedly killed by the trio after she resisted their attempts to force her into prostitution.

“It was required to keep the whole process secret amid outrage among the public,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the police also questioned suspended revenue sub inspector, Vaibhav Pratap Singh of Udaipur Palla-2 in Yamkeshwar tehsil, to probe his suspicious role in the case after taking him into custody, the senior police official said.

He said if required, they will again question the revenue official and his confrontation with the three accused is likely.

The revenue official’s questioning at an undisclosed location led to some media reports claiming his arrest. However, director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar refuted the news of the revenue official’s arrest.

On September 27, Pauri Garhwal district magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande suspended the revenue official for “negligence in performing his duties” by not filing on time the complaint given by the father of the receptionist. He also ordered a departmental probe for his suspicious role in the case. It came to light during the preliminary investigation that the patwari didn’t act on a missing complaint filed by the receptionist’s family on September 19, but rather entertained a complaint from the accused who misled the police.

Two days after the receptionist’s disappearance on September 18, the patwari went on leave on September 20 for four days, without informing any senior official about the matter. He had cited his father’s ill health

The Uttarakhand police on Saturday said five teams under SIT are working on the case for a speedy investigation. The police said the special task force is also assisting in the case for technical matters.

The controversy over bulldozing the parts of resort that may have destroyed evidence is yet to die down, with a lawyer filing a complaint against BJP MLA from Yamkeshwar, Renu Bisht, with the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pauri Garhwal.

Prawesh Rawat, an advocate from Kotdwar who is associated with the Congress, said if the SSP doesn’t convert his complaint into a first information report (FIR), he will approach the court, seeking directions to the police for registration of the FIR. “The MLA hatched a conspiracy to destroy the evidence in the case. It is a crime,” he said.

Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht, who was present at the time of the demolition of the resort by a bulldozer, posted a video on her Facebook in which she said she had appraised the chief minister about the anger of people over the heinous crime. “I requested him for bulldozer action on the resort so that nobody can even think of committing such a crime. At my request, the chief minister immediately ordered the bulldozer action. I am thankful to him.”

SSP Pauri, Yaswant Singh said he has ordered an examination of the complaint and will take action on the basis of the report.

The MLA couldn’t be contacted for her remarks on the issue.

Pauri Garhwal district magistrate, Vijay Kumar Jogdande, who on Sunday ordered a probe into the matter, refused to comment.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal has called for a state bandh on Sunday, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the murder.