Uttarakhand HC asks CBI to probe Aanchal Pandhi case

The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry by the CBI into the death of Aanchal Pandhi, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances on Valentine’s Day in her apartment in Dehradun in 2017

Published on: Aug 7, 2018, 22:10:02 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the death of 30-year-old Aanchal Pandhi, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances on Valentine’s Day in her apartment in Dehradun in 2017.

The high court was hearing a petition file by the woman’s father Anil Kohli. (HT Photo)

Farrukh Khan, counsel of the petitioner Anil Kohli, father of the deceased, said the order was issued by Single Bench of Lok Pal Singh.

The bench was responding to the petition of Anil Kohli who alleged that the case was being botched up by the investigating agencies by converting the murder case into a case of abetment to suicide, as the accused Rahul Pandhi, husband of Aanchal, was an influential person. Khan said Kohli has alleged that his daughter was murdered by her husband.

Khan said after Anchal died on February 14, 2017, his father registered a complaint with Rajpur police station in Dehradun under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Rahul and three other persons.

“But in June last year, the police filed a charge sheet in the lower court in Dehrdun, in which Rahul was made an accused in abetment to suicide under Indian Penal Code section 306,” he said.

“After we argued in the court that the matter was being botched up as Rahul was an influential person, the court conceded to our demand. We also produced Rahul’s photographs with some prominent politicians in the state before the court,” Khan said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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