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Uttarakhand Police details Ankita Bhandari case investigation and verdict
Uttarakhand Police recounted how investigators arrested three suspects within 24 hours, formed a women-led SIT and completed the probe into Ankita’s murder.
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Uttarakhand Police on Thursday outlined the investigation and judicial proceedings in the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari, saying the three accused were arrested within 24 hours of the incident coming to light and the investigation was completed in 88 days.
Additional Director General of Police (Crime and Law and Order) V Murugesan briefed the media at the police headquarters in Dehradun, detailing the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), the collection of evidence and the subsequent court proceedings.
Bhandari worked at Vanantara Resort near Rishikesh when the incident took place in 2022. According to Murugesan, police teams coordinated their response and arrested all three accused within a day of the incident becoming known.
SIT collected multiple forms of evidence
Murugesan said a special investigation team was constituted on the directions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the case. A woman Indian Police Service officer of deputy inspector general rank was appointed to head the team.
The SIT collected digital, technical, forensic and physical evidence during the investigation. It also examined the accused, forensic reports and witness statements, according to the police officer.
The team completed its investigation in 88 days and submitted a chargesheet of approximately 500 pages to the court, Murugesan said.
Three accused sentenced to life
Murugesan said the state government took steps to facilitate an expedited trial and effective prosecution. He attributed the outcome to the evidence gathered by the SIT and the prosecution's arguments in court.
On May 30, 2025, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kotdwar convicted Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life, according to the police briefing.
All three convicts are currently in jail, serving their sentences, Murugesan said.
The briefing focused on the police investigation, the evidence-gathering process and the trial outcome. It did not provide further details about any subsequent appeals or other legal proceedings in the case.
The murder of Bhandari, who worked at the resort near Rishikesh, drew attention to the police investigation and the prosecution of the three accused. The latest briefing set out the police department's account of the steps taken from the arrests through the court's verdict.
