Row erupts after victim’s kin name BJP leader as ‘VIP guest’ in Pauri receptionist murder case

In the over 4-minute video, the victim’s mother sought action against state BJP general secretary (organisation) Ajaey Kumar

The family of the receptionist, who was murdered in September 2022 for allegedly refusing to provide “extra services” to a “VIP guest” at a resort in Pauri Garhwal district, has claimed that the guest in the case is a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, triggering a political row in Uttarakhand between the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP.

The case pertains to the murder of 19-year-old woman, who was working as a receptionist at a resort in Pauri Garhwal, by three accused, including expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya (PTI file photo)

A video that was uploaded on the social media platform of a local news outlet on Saturday evening purportedly showed the victim’s mother accuse chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of making “false promises” and doing “nothing to ensure justice” in the case.

She also suspected state BJP general secretary (organisation) Ajaey Kumar to be the “VIP guest” and suspected him to be the VIP guest for whom the victim was being pressurised to provide “extra services”— euphemism for sex work demanded by a “VIP guest”. “I have got to know that Ajaey Kumar is the VIP. Action should be taken against him immediately,” she said and burst into tears.

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The case pertains to the murder of 19-year-old woman, who was working as a receptionist at a resort in Pauri Garhwal, by three accused, including expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya, for allegedly refusing to provide “extra services” to a “VIP guest” in September 2022, the police have said.

In the over 4-minute video, the victim’s mother sought action against state BJP general secretary (organisation) Ajaey Kumar, suspecting him to be the “VIP guest” in the case.

“I have got to know that Ajaey Kumar is the VIP. Action should be taken against him immediately,” she is heard saying in the video. She also accused the state government of “harassing the people who have been supporting them in their struggle”.

HT could not independently verify the veracity of the video.

Repeated attempts through email and calls to Ajaey Kumar for a comment could not elicit any response.

Soon after the video surfaced on social media, the Congress targeted the ruling party, calling the alleged involvement of the BJP leader as “shameful”.

“The allegations levelled by victim family against BJP leader Ajaey Kumar are serious in natural and need to be investigated,” Karan Mahara, state Congress president, said. “The Dhami government should show courage to order a high-level judicial probe into the allegations against the BJP leader.”

However, the BJP rejected the allegations as “baseless” and hit out at the Congress.

“The allegations against our party leaders are baseless and shows the frustration of the opposition party because of their repeated defeats in the polls,” BJP’s state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said.

He added that the remarks by the victim’s mother in the video were made in a “fit of emotion”.

“The Congress doesn’t care about the family and is desperate for launching a misleading campaign against the BJP leaders. The probe agencies have left no stone unturned to ensure justice for the Pauri Garhwal receptionist woman and her family,” he said. “The state government and local authorities are in regular touch with the victim’s family. All their requests have been fulfilled…”