Uttarakhand: Ankita Bhandari drowned with blunt force injuries, reveals autopsy
The provisional autopsy report of Ankita Bhandari revealed that her death was caused by drowning, and she had blunt force trauma. She was allegedly pushed into the Chilla canal by her employer Pulkit Arya, son of now expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, and his two accomplices in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh. The autopsy was conducted on Saturday while the detailed report is yet to be furnished.
Why does this story matter?
Bhandari (19) had gone missing on September 18 after the accused reportedly pressurized her to induige into prostitution. Widespread outrage swept the state as people took to streets demanding action, following which the accused were held on Friday — who reportedly confessed to the crime. Her body was fished out of the canal.
Have chats to corroborate prostitution claims: Police
The body was handed over to the family members for last rites after the postmortem. The police are in possession of WhatsApp chats which corroborate the fact that Arya was forcing the deceased to enter prostitution, said Pauri Garhwal SSP Yaswant Singh. The woman was hired as a receptionist less than a month ago and hadn't even received her first salary, her relative said.
Couldn't even draw first salary
The deceased's mother was an anganwadi worker while her father used to work as a security guard but had quit some years ago. Bhandari had finished her schooling and was looking forward to college but couldn't take admission as her family was facing a financial crisis. She decided to take up the receptionist's job and moved to Rishikesh, 130 kilometers from her village.
What exactly happened?
Arya was reportedly angry over Bhandari revealing to her colleagues about his unsolicited advances. Arya and the other accused—his friend Ankit and resort manager Saurabh—took Bhandari out on September 18 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.
Accused's father, brother expelled from BJP, institutional post
The BJP expelled former minister Vinod Arya along with his son Ankit, who was also removed from the post of Deputy Chairman of the Uttarakhand Other Backward Classes Commission. Arya's resort was demolished on Friday midnight after the arrest of the accused. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be formed to probe the case.
