Police early Saturday recovered the body of a female receptionist Ankita Bhandari , allegedly killed by a BJP leader’s son, from Chilla canal where the accused had dumped her.
The development in the case was shared by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a tweet, who said he was pained by the incident.
The Chief Minister later told ANI, That he has directed all DMs to take action against all resorts that have been constructed illegally. Action was taken against the resort of accused. Forensic & other tests will take place there, so sealing is being done. But action will continue.
“Ankita’s body recovered. We’ve constituted an SIT under DIG P Renuka Devi to ensure the strictest punishment for the accused, it’ll investigate the matter. No accused will be spared, whoever they may be,” said Uttarakhand CM PS Dhami to ANI
Pulkit Arya, the key accused in the case and the owner of the resort where the victim worked, is a son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader from Haridwar.
The politician was formerly a chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Kala Board.
An SIT led by DIG police P Renuka Devi has been set up to conduct a speedy probe into the killing of the 19-year-old woman.
Uttarakhand | Visuals from Chilla canal in Rishikesh where the body of #AnkitaBhandari was recovered today.
The 19-yr-old receptionist was allegedly murdered by BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya who has been now arrested along with other two accused pic.twitter.com/hOSSpGn2e3
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 24, 2022
The resort, built illegally in the Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district by the BJP leader’s son, was demolished late Friday night, Dhami said.
Those who have committed the heinous crime will not be spared, he said.
Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were arrested on Friday after they confessed to have killed the girl and thrown her body into Cheela canal.
Initially, they tried to mislead the police, but when interrogated sternly they confessed to the crime, Pauri ASP Shekhar Chandra Suyal had said on Friday.
Before she was found dead, the girl was reported missing at a revenue police outpost by her parents, after they did not find her in her room on Monday morning.