U'khand murder: ‘BJP MLA destroyed evidence by ordering demolition of resort,’ says plea in HC
The body of the woman, Ankita Bhandari, was recovered from Cheela canal near Rishikesh, six days after her parents found her missing from her room. The woman worked as a receptionist at the Vanantara resort in Pauri Garhwal district owned by Pulkit Arya.
A petition filed before the Uttarakhand high court has accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Renu Bisht of destruction of evidence in the murder of a 19-year-old receptionist from Pauri Garhwal, by ordering demolition of part of a resort in Rishikesh owned by expelled party leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit, the main accused in the murder case.
The body of the woman, Ankita Bhandari, was recovered from Cheela canal near Rishikesh, six days after her parents found her missing from her room. The woman worked as a receptionist at the Vanantara resort in Pauri Garhwal district owned by Pulkit Arya. Pulkit and two other employees have been arrested in the case and the police have said that the woman was allegedly murdered by the three for refusing to provide “extra service” to the VIP guests. All three accused are currently in jail.
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During the hearing in the case on Thursday, the high court also sought a status report along with the case diary from the special investigation team probing the matter. The matter has been fixed for next hearing on November 3.
A single bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Ashutosh Negi, a resident of Pauri Garhwal.
“It was on the MLA’s instructions that a bulldozer destroyed the parts of the resort,” petitioner Negi told HT. “The action resulted in tampering with crucial forensic evidence.”
He said they have pleaded before the court to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), adding that they were not satisfied with the SIT probe.
The demolition action was carried out on the intervening night of September 23 and 24. At the time, Renu Bisht, the BJP MLA from Yamkeshwar, was present outside the resort.
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Bisht also posted a video statement on her Facebook in which she claimed that she had approached chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who ordered the bulldozer action on the resort in Rishikesh.
Despite repeated attempts, the MLA did not respond to HT calls.
The murder took place on September 18, while the woman’s body was recovered from the Chilla canal six days later, police have said.
The murder had triggered a public outrage.