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Uttarakhand receptionist murder: Accused seek 10 days from court for Narco test
A court in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal has fixed the matter for next hearing on December 22 after the accused sought 10 days from it for the Narco test
The accused in the Pauri Garhwal receptionist murder case in Uttarakhand has sought 10 days from the court for Narco test, police said on Monday.
“The court has fixed the matter for next hearing on December 22 after the accused sought 10 days from it for the Narco test,” said V Murugesan, additional director general of police (ADGP), law and order, and the spokesperson for the state police.
The police had filed an application in a Pauri Garhwal court for Narco test of the accused on Friday and the matter was listed for hearing on Monday.
“We will file the chargesheet in the matter in the next three-four days. We have collected sufficient evidence against the accused. A supplementary charge sheet will be submitted after further investigation under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC),” the senior police official said.
The Uttarakhand police’s special investigation team (SIT) had filed the application in the court for a narco test on the accused in the receptionist murder case to ascertain the truth about the VIP for whom the victim was allegedly being pressurised to provide “extra service” at the resort in Pauri Garhwal district.
Last Sunday, while addressing a press conference, Murugesan had said, “Regarding the truth about the VIP room, a presidential suite at the resort, where people who stayed were called VIP, we will conduct the narco test of the accused.”
Narco test involves the injection of a drug, sodium pentothal, which induces a hypnotic or sedated state in which the subject’s imagination is neutralised, and they are expected to divulge true information.
Since the key accused in the case is an expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s son, the opposition Congress has questioned the fairness in the investigation, asking why the police are not revealing the name of the VIP for whom the victim was allegedly being pressurised for sexual favours.
The 19-year-old woman, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in the Pauri district, was allegedly murdered by the three accused for refusing to provide “extra service” to the VIP guests, the police said. A WhatsApp conversation between the victim and her close friend, which went viral on social media, suggested that the accused had forced her to provide “extra service” to the VIP guest expected to come to the resort on September 19.
The girl’s body was found on September 24, six days after she went missing from her home. According to police, the girl was murdered on September 18. All the three accused are currently in jail.
