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Uttarakhand murder: Revenue official questioned, crime scene recreated
Ankita Bhandari, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Ganga Bhogpur Talla area, was found dead on September 24, six days after she was reported missing.
The special investigation team probing the murder case of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand on Friday recreated the scene of the crime and sequence of events, a senior police officer said. Bhandari, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Ganga Bhogpur Talla area, was found dead on September 24, six days after she was reported missing.
Police have arrested three people in connection with the murder, including the main accused Pulkit Arya — the resort’s owner and son of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya.
The officer mentioned above told HT on Saturday that the accused were each taken to the resort and Chilla canal separately. Ankita was pushed into the canal on September 18, according to the police. Her body was recovered on September 24.
Also read: Skeletal remains of missing Uttarakhand man exhumed in Bhonsdi
Meanwhile, police on Saturday also questioned suspended revenue sub inspector (called patwari), Vaibhav Pratap Singh, in connection with the case. Singh was suspended on September 27 for alleged negligence by not filing the missing persons complaint given by Ankita’s father on September 19.
Also read: CM Dhami meets Uttarakhand teen's parents, assures ‘harshest punishment’
In another development, a lawyer from Kotdwar on Saturday filed a complaint with the Pauri Garhwal’s SSP, Yaswant Singh, against BJP MLA Renu Bisht alleging that she conspired to destroy evidence as she was on site during the demolition of the Vanantara Resort shortly after Ankita’s body was found.
MLA Bisht couldn’t be contacted for her remarks on the issue.
