They gagged Ankita's mouth and dragged her in, says eyewitness to SIT

During SIT investigation, the main eyewitness in the Ankita Bhandari case, on September 18, claims that the accused Pulkit Arya behaved with her roughly and she was crying for help.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): In a sensational revelation to the murder case of Ankita Bhandari, Anuj (name changed), an employee of the resort in Rishikesh where the victim was a receptionist, claimed that on the day of the murder, Pulkit Arya, the owner of the resort and the son of now-expelled BJP leader gagged Ankita’s mouth and pushed her inside a room.

Anuj who had joined the resort just three days before the murder - on September 15th - revealed to Etv Bharat exclusively that not only Arya but the manager of the resort Saurabh Bhaskar and his assistant Ankit Gupta were also present on the day of the incident.

“I went upstairs to keep the luggage of the guests when I heard Madam (Ankita Bhandari) shouting for help. She was trying to free herself and was pleading Sir (Ankit) to leave her but he silenced her and dragged her inside a room. After some time when I was going out to have some necessities I found four people speaking with Ankit sir,” Anuj told Etv Bharat.

When asked about the guests - Anuj who was also interrogated but the Special Investigation Team, said, “I don’t know any of them. There were four people and all of them were strong and stout. They were also young. They came in a black. They spoke to Ankit sir and left immediately after that”.

Anuj also said that he had seen Pulkit misbehaving with Ankita once or twice in an inebriated condition. The investigating team has also recorded the statement of Ankita's friend with whom she had a chat on the day of her murder.

The revelation by an employee of the resort is certainly a major step towards establishing the fact the suspected trio were present on the day of the murder and that they might have a direct relation with the mysterious murder of the young receptionist. The SIT has also recovered the mobile phone.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case has taken the three main accused on police remand. The three main accused in the case are Pulkit Arya, owner of the resort where Bhandari was working as a receptionist, and his two accomplices -- resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta.

The trio was arrested on September 23 as they were accused of killing Ankita Bhandari after she allegedly refused to give 'extra service' to a VIP customer who is yet to be identified.

Revenue police sub-inspector Vaibhav Pratap Singh, under suspension for dereliction of duty for allegedly not registering an FIR, is also being interrogated.

The sensational murder case came to the fore after the body of the young receptionist was recovered from the Chilla Canal in Rishikesh on September 24. The murder triggered massive public outrage as the locals blocked the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway in front of the mortuary, near the base hospital, where the deceased's body was taken for autopsy.