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Uttarakhand teen murder: Post-mortem report rules out sexual assault
The body of Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantara Resort in Pauri district, was found from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24.
The post-mortem report of the Uttarakhand receptionist, whose murder caused a massive uproar in the hill state, said the cause of death as drowning. It further said there was the presence of four-five antemortem injury marks on her body and ruled out sexual assault.
The body of the teenager, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantara Resort in Pauri district, was found from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24.
Three persons, including the owner of the resort Pulkit Arya, have been arrested in the case and sent to 14-day judicial custody. Pulkit Arya, the son of now expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya, is the prime accused in the case.
The resort was demolished on the orders of Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
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A police officer, on the condition of anonymity, told HT that the young woman was allegedly being pressurised by Pulkit to enter into prostitution and was forced to offer sexual vafours.
The provisional autopsy report said the 19-year-old had blunt force trauma and died due to drowning.
The woman’s murder has sparked nationwide outrage with her family seeking capital punishment for the culprits.
"I had spoken to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the phone. He has given full assurance that justice will be served in my daughter's case," the woman’s father told news agency ANI.
“We demanded that the culprits be given capital punishment. The CM has also talked about giving full cooperation from the police and administration in the whole matter,” he added.
A special investigation team (SIT) was formed to probe the murder case. On Tuesday, the SIT recovered a grey Activa and a black Pulsar motorcycle, which were apparently used in the crime.
The two-wheelers were understood to have been used in taking the woman to the Chilla canal where she was pushed into by her killers, an official statement said on Tuesday.
(With inputs from bureau and agencies)
