Midnight demolition at resort of BJP leader's son held for 19-yr-old's murder
Pulkit Arya was among three people arrested on Friday for allegedly murdering a 19-year-old woman who worked as a receptionist at his resort on Chilla road in Yamkeshwar area.
Amid outrage over the murder of a 19-year-old woman allegedly by BJP leader's son in Uttarakhand, chief minister Pushkar Dhami ordered demolition of a resort owned by the accused, reported ANI. Abhinav Kumar, special principal secretary to the CM, said that demolition was underway at the Vanatara Resort in Rishikesh owned by Pulkit Arya on late Friday night on the orders of Dhami.
Pulkit Arya is the son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader from Haridwar, and a former chairman of Uttarakhand Mati Kala Board.
Arya was among three people arrested on Friday for allegedly murdering a woman who worked as a receptionist at his resort on Chilla road in Yamkeshwar area. The woman went missing earlier this week, in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal, police said.
Arya was arrested along with Saurabh Bhaskar (35) and Ankit Gupta (19) and all of them have confessed to the crime, police added.
Pauri Garhwal senior superintendent of police (SSP) Yashwant Singh said that Bhaskar worked as a manager at the resort and Gupta was his assistant. The senior police officer said Arya on September 20 had approached police with a missing complaint to mislead the investigation. The victim's father, however, suspected the role of Arya and staff after the woman's friend approached him with a WhatsApp conversation suggesting the trio’s involvement.
“During the course of investigation, police learnt the accused and the woman had gone to Rishikesh on Sunday. While on their way back, Pulkit and the woman entered into an argument following which the accused threw her into a canal in Chilla,” the SSP said.
A spokesperson for the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) confirmed that the body of victim was recovered from Chilla canal and her relatives were called to identify it, reported ANI on Saturday morning.
The woman was allegedly being pressurised by Pulkit to enter into prostitution, according to a police officer who did not want to be named.
The accused have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
