Ankita Bhandari murder case: Resort owner, two associates convicted; sentencing awaited | Dehradun News
DEHRADUN: A sessions court in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, on Friday sentenced resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two aides, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, to life imprisonment in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) court held the trio guilty under 302, 210b, 201 of IPC.Security was tightened in and around the ADJ court in Kotdwar, with heavy police deployment. Pauri SSP Lokeshwar Singh said a 100-metre area around the court had been declared a zero zone, allowing only court attendees and officials inside.
On May 19, the prosecution’s special public prosecutor, Avneesh Negi, had concluded the hearing by responding to the defence’s arguments. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court set May 30 as the date for the verdict. The first hearing of the case in the ADJ Court in Kotdwar began on January 30, 2023. The prosecution had submitted a 500-page charge sheet in the court. Pulkit is the son of now-expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, who was a minister of state in the Trivendra Singh Rawat government till 2021.Ankita Bhandari (19), a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, went missing on September 18, 2022. Six days later, her body was recovered from the Chilla canal.Investigations revealed she had been pushed into the barrage by Pulkit Arya—son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya—and his associates following a dispute.The case triggered widespread outrage after reports surfaced that Ankita was being pressured to provide “special services” to resort guests.Out of 97 witnesses listed, the court examined 47 during the nearly two-year-long trial.
