A court in Uttarakhand on Friday delivered justice in the long-awaited Ankita Bhandari mrder case, convicting all three accused for the brutal 2022 crime that shook the state. Nineteen-year-old Ankita, a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Pauri district, was mrdered on September 18, 2022.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi, presiding over the case in Kotdwar, sentenced resort owner Pulkit Arya and his employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, to life imprisonment. The final arguments were heard on May 19, and the court delivered its verdict shortly after.
Pulkit Arya is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, who was expelled from the party following the controversy. According to the prosecution, a dispute arose between Ankita and Pulkit, after which “the latter, along with his two employees – Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta – pushed her into a canal.”
Ankita’s body was discovered on September 24 in the canal near the Chilla Barrage, six days after she went missing. The trio was arrested shortly after the body was recovered and had remained in judicial custody since.
The investigation was carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which submitted a detailed 500-page chargesheet. The trial formally began on January 30, 2023, and the court framed charges against the accused thereafter.
The prosecution’s case was built on testimonies from 47 witnesses, including the lead investigator, and crucial forensic and circumstantial evidence. The judgment brings closure to a case that had sparked widespread protests and demands for justice across Uttarakhand and beyond.
