Uttarakhand court verdict in Ankita Bhandari murder case today
The court of the Additional District and Session Judge of Kotdwar, Uttarakhand will deliver its verdict in the sensational Ankita Bhandari murder case today
- DEHRADUN, MAY 30
(IANS) — The court of the Additional District and Session Judge of Kotdwar,
Uttarakhand will deliver its verdict in the sensational Ankita Bhandari murder
case on Friday. The case had made national headlines after the local people
came out and protested over the murder of the 19-year-old woman who worked as a
receptionist at Vanantra Resort located in Yamkeshwar of Pauri district.
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- The young woman was allegedly murdered by the resort
operator Pulkit Arya, along with his two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit
Gupta on September 18, 2022.
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- The case had taken a sensational turn as Pulkit Arya is
the son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader and the local people had taken to the
streets to protest over it. The BJP had shown Vinod Arya the door after the
controversy erupted and the Uttarakhand government formed a Special
Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
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- The Uttarakhand court completed its hearing in the Ankita
Bhandari murder case on Monday and is scheduled to announce the verdict today.
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- Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi on May
19 this year heard the final arguments between the defence and the prosecution
in the case which had rocked Uttarakhand due to its political overtones.
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- After hearing the closing arguments of both sides, the
Judge had fixed May 30 as the date for pronouncing the verdict.
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- The hearing of the case lasted for two years and eight
months. During this time, 47 witnesses, including the Investigation Officer,
were presented by the prosecution advocate Anuj Pundir.
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- According to the prosecution, Ankita Bhandari and Pulkit
Arya had a dispute over something, after which the young man, along with
Bhaskar and Gupta, allegedly pushed the woman into the Cheela canal in
Rishikesh.
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- After Ankita Bhandari’s lifeless body was fished out of
the Cheela canal, the three men were arrested by the police and sent to prison.
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- Fearing leniency for the accused and his accomplices due
to his political connections, the residents of Pauri district came out in large
numbers to protest, and the Uttarakhand government formed a SIT to probe the
matter and take the case to its logical conclusion.
