Dehradun: A court in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district on Friday sentenced three individuals to life imprisonment in connection with the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari. The verdict was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi.

According to prosecution lawyer Ajay Pant, Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta were found guilty and awarded life terms for their involvement in the murder.

Ahead of the Kotdwar court's verdict in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, the victim's mother Soni Devi broke down in grief, urging the people of Uttarakhand to continue supporting the family and demanding capital punishment for those accused in the case that shook the state in 2022.

"...May the criminals be sentenced to death...I appeal to the public of Uttarakhand to keep on supporting us and come to the Kotdwar court to boost our morale," the victim's mother, Devi, said.

Background of the case

Ankita Bhandari, 19, worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort located in Yamkeshwar in the Pauri district. She was murdered on 18 September 2022 by the resort operator Pulkit Arya and his employees, Bhaskar and Gupta.

As per the prosecution, a dispute between Bhandari and Arya led to the trio pushing her into the Chilla canal in Rishikesh.

Bhandari, a resident of Pauri district, was reported missing for nearly six days before her body was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on 24 September. An SIT led by Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi was initially assigned to investigate the case.

Political fallout following the crime

Pulkit Arya is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya. Following the emergence of the case, the Bharatiya Janata Party expelled Vinod Arya from the party.

Lengthy trial and witness examination

The first hearing in the case took place on 30 January 2023 in the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kotdwar. After completing the investigation, the SIT submitted a 500-page chargesheet against the three accused: resort owner Pulkit Arya, and his employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.

The prosecution began presenting its evidence on 28 March 2023. Over the course of nearly two years and eight months, 47 witnesses, including the investigating officer, were examined in court. Although the SIT had listed 97 witnesses, only 47 key witnesses were produced during the trial.

(with agency inputs)