Uttarakhand: Missing receptionist's body found; BJP leader's son arrested
The body of Ankita Bhandari (19)—a resort receptionist who went missing several days ago—was fished out from Rishikesh's Chilla canal on Saturday. Pulkit Arya—the resort owner and son of Uttarakhand BJP leader Vinod Arya—and two others were arrested on Friday for pushing Bhandari into the canal following a dispute on Sunday. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered an SIT probe into the incident.
Bhandari was recently hired at the resort
Bhandari hailed from Srikot village in Pauri Garhwal district and was recently hired as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort on the banks of Ganga in Rishikesh. As per police sources, Arya had tried to make a pass at her and even forced her to provide sexual services to clients, which she refused, reported Firstpost. Later, she went missing under "mysterious circumstances" on Monday.
SDRF had been searching for the body for some time
What exactly happened?
Arya was reportedly angry over Bhandari spilling the beans to her colleagues about his unsolicited advances. Arya and the other accused—his friend Ankit and resort manager Saurabh—took Bhandari out on Sunday to resolve the dispute. They headed to Rishikesh on two bikes—with Arya and Bhandari riding together. They stopped midway, where Arya and Ankit drank together, and later she was pushed into the river.
Locals gheraoed police vehicle, tried to thrash the accused
The resort was demolished on Friday night
Congress questions police action
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress accused the police of not acting in time "because the accused has links with the RSS-BJP." "It's horrific. When the girl went missing on September 18, why did the police register the FIR on September 21?" asked state Congress spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni. However, Dhami said, "This is a very sad incident. Harshest action will be taken against the culprits."
