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Uttarakhand murder: Teen cremated as CM assures kin of action
Ankita Bhandari (19) was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer and her body was recovered from nearby Cheela canal early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.
The last rites of the 19-year-old woman receptionist who was killed in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh allegedly by her employer were conducted at the ITI ghat in Pauri Garhwal on Sunday evening, hours after her family refused to cremate her until they get the final autopsy details.
Ankita Bhandari (19) was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer and her body was recovered from nearby Cheela canal early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.
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Bhandari worked at the Vanantara resort in Pauri district owned by now-expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya. Pulkit and two other employees have been arrested in the case.
A provisional report released by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh said she died due to drowning, adding that ante-mortem injuries (injuries before death) have been found on Bhandari’s body suggestive of a blunt force trauma. The post-mortem examination was conducted by a four-member team on Saturday. The initial report said that details of injuries and other findings will be given in the final report.
“I am not satisfied with the provisional autopsy report,” her father Virendra Singh Bhandari told reporters earlier. “Her last rites will not be performed until we get the final detailed report.”
Also Read| Uttarakhand receptionist died due to drowning, had blunt force trauma: Autopsy
However, after an assurance from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami that the perpetrators of the murder would get the punishment they deserve, the family members agreed to conduct the last rites.
“Such incidents with our daughters are intolerable and people’s anger on the incident is natural, but I want to assure everyone that the culprits in the matter won’t be spared,” the CM told reporters.
The family also raised suspicion over the government’s decision to hurriedly bulldoze parts of the resort owned by prime accused Pulkit Arya, alleging if it was done “deliberately” to “destroy the evidence” at the crime scene.
“There is suspicion over the action taken by the government hurriedly overnight to bulldoze the parts of the resort. Was it done to benefit the accused?” alleged the woman’s father.
The family also demanded a trial of their daughter’s case in a fast-track court and capital punishment for the culprits.
Director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar also assured Bhandari’s father that the police will ensure that his daughter’s killers are hanged.
Meanwhile, a new audio clip between prime accused Pulkit and a friend of the deceased surfaced on social media, in which the former is purportedly heard saying he did not know the whereabouts of the victim and that he was concerned about her disappearance. When asked about the woman’s whereabouts, the accused in the clip can be heard asking her friend: “Is she with you?” HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Earlier on Sunday, Rishikesh-Badrinath highway was blocked for several hours by people demanding justice for Bhandari.
BJP Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht meanwhile posted a video on Facebook saying: “I requested him for bulldozer action on the resort so that nobody can even think of committing such crime. At my request, the CM immediately ordered the bulldozer action. I am thankful to him.”
The Congress also questioned the bulldozer action.
“The incident of Uttarakhand’s woman is heart-wrenching. The action taken by authorities so far is just sham. Think about what her parents might be going through,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.
BJP state media Manveer Singh Chauhan said the Congress was trying to make an issue out of it for political gains. “Many such incidents took place during Congress rule. But they didn’t even file FIRs and saved criminals,” added Chauhan.
