Expressing its satisfaction with the probe in the matter currently being conducted by an special investigative team (SIT) of Uttarkhand police, the Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday rejected the plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the 19-year-old receptionist murder case.
Lalit Sharma, counsel representing the CBI in the case, said the single bench of justice Mishra rejected the plea of CBI inquiry into the receptionist girl murder case.
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The 19-year-old receptionist from Pauri Garhwal district was allegedly murdered by resort owner and expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya and two others staff members. According to police, she was allegedly killed for refusing to provide “extra services” to a VIP guest.
The incident took place on September 18, while the woman’s body was recovered from the Chilla canal six days later. The murder had triggered public outrage. Pulkit Arya and two other accused are now in jail.
The petition for CBI inquiry into the case was filed by Dehradun-based Ashustosh Negi, who alleged, “SIT was hiding important evidence of the case and the victim’s post-mortem report has not been made public yet.”
{{/usCountry}}The petition for CBI inquiry into the case was filed by Dehradun-based Ashustosh Negi, who alleged, “SIT was hiding important evidence of the case and the victim’s post-mortem report has not been made public yet.”
{{/usCountry}}The petitioner also claimed that it was on instructions of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht that the resort was bulldozed and the action resulted in tampering with crucial forensic evidence.
The demolition action was carried out on the intervening night of September 23 and 24. At that time, the BJP MLA was present outside the resort. She also posted a video on her Facebook in which she can be heard claiming that she had approached chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who ordered the bulldozer action on the resort.
On November 4, the HC asked the SIT to file a status report in the matter by November 11. The court asked the SIT to explain in the report the details of the evidence that was collected from the resort site before it was bulldozed.
Petitioner Negi said after going through the HC order and charge sheet filed in the case, he will decide whether to challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court or not.
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On Monday (December 19), the SIT submitted the charge sheet against three persons suspected of killing the receptionist. The 500-page charge sheet, which contains statements of 100 witnesses and 30 pieces of documentary evidence, was filed in the court of Kotdwar judicial magistrate first class Bhawna Pandey on Monday.
The charge sheet includes forensic reports, post-mortem report, electronic evidence like data from three mobile phones belonging to the accused, and WhatsApp chats. It also includes statements of 100 witnesses, including that of former employees who worked at the resort.
The three accused– resort owner Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta– have been charged under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and 5 (1) b of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act that deals with prostitution, according to police.