Dehradun (Uttarakhand): A 19-year-old girl's murder allegedly by the son of a BJP leader in Uttarakhand has triggered widespread outrage forcing the saffron party to swing into action and expel its leader. The body of the victim who worked in a resort in Uttarakhand was recovered from a canal on Saturday. She worked at Vanantara resort in Pauri district's Yamkeshwar block owned by Haridwar BJP leader Vinod Arya's son Pulkit Arya.
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- The Uttarakhand top cop on Saturday said that the victim receptionist was being pressured by the resort owner to provide "special services" to guests. DGP Ashok Kumar said that this much has been known from the girl's chat with a friend of hers.
- Screenshots of the WhatsApp messages the victim had sent to one of her friends are doing rounds on social media. One of her messages reads: "They are trying to turn me into a prostitute." Police say the initial probe indicates the messages are indeed from the victim.
- Earlier, a Facebook friend of the receptionist, had reportedly said that his friend was killed because she refused to have sex with guests as demanded by the owner of the resort where she worked. Before her body was found, she was reported missing by her parents after they could not find her in her room Monday morning.
- According to reports, the victim had told her friend that the owner and the managers of the resort where she worked were mounting pressure on her to have sex with guests visiting the resort. After 8.30 pm on Sunday, her phone went unreachable. When after repeated attempts he could not connect to her, the girl's friend called Pulkit Arya, the resort owner, who said she had gone to her room to sleep.
- The next day when he reportedly called Arya's again, his phone too was found switched off. The friend then rang up Ankit, the resort's manager, who said she was in gym. He then spoke to the resort's Chef who told him he had not seen the girl that day. Resort's owner Pulkit Arya, its manager and assistant manager were arrested on Friday and sent to 14-day judicial custody.
- Violent protests erupted in areas surrounding the resort with locals breaking glass panes and some trying to torch a pickle factory on its premises. However, the fire did not spread much as the weather was cloudy. BJP's Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht's car was also attacked near the Cheela canal.
- As the ripples of anger spread, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promised that no one would be spared and that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Deputy Inspector General P Renuka Devi had been constituted to probe all aspects. It is a tragic incident. Such a heinous crime has been committed against our daughter. Action is being taken against those involved in it. The father and brother of the main accused Pulkit Arya have been expelled from the BJP, Dhami told reporters.
- Vinod Arya, the father of the main accused Pulkit, had formerly served as chairperson of the Uttarakhand Mati Board with a state minister's rank. His other son Ankit, who was also in the BJP, has now been removed as vice president of Uttarakhand OBC Commission.
- Civic authorities had carried out demolition at the resort overnight following the orders of the Uttarakhand Chief Minister.
- The Congress staged protests in district headquarters across the state on Saturday to voice its anger over the vulnerability of women in the state. Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahra said the young woman had gone missing on September 18 and the FIR was lodged four days later. It shows the state government is not serious in its actions. Women are not safe in Uttarakhand, Mahra said.
