Pauri: Ankita Bhandari, the teenage receptionist, allegedly murdered by BJP leader Vinod Arya's son Pulkit Arya, along with two of his accomplices, a few days ago, wanted to build a house for her parents in her native village, a dream, which will never be fulfilled now. Ankita's parents remember their slain daughter as a promising student since school time, who was devoted only to her parents and brother.
Ankita, who hails from a small village in Dobh Srikot town of Pauri block had a dream to build a small two-room house in the village itself, the family said. The body of Ankita Bhandari, the 19-year-old receptionist, working at Pulkit Arya's Vanatara resort in Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district, was found near Chila Power House in Chila Shakti Canal on Saturday after she went missing on September 18.
Police arrested Pulkit Arya and two of his staffers at his Vanatara resort in Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district after Arya reportedly confessed to having killed Ankita, along with two of his staffers by pushing her into a barrage from a cliff on the night of September 18. They have been booked under section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and are currently lodged in Pauri Jail under 14 days of judicial custody.
Also read: Accused Pulkit & his accomplice tried to mislead Ankita's friend, reveals audio clip
The Uttarakhand government on Friday night demolished the resort even as the SIT started a probe into the incident. Back at Ankita's house, her parents said that she was gearing up to build the house, a task they could not undertake due to financial constraints. Building a house is no less than a challenge for the Bhandari couple, who earn their livelihood by farming and selling milk.
But for Ankita, it was not a big deal, the parents said. After intermediate from Pauri with about 88 per cent marks, Ankita did a hotel management course in Dehradun and took up a job as a receptionist at Vanantra resort. After her murder, Ankita's mother is now hesitant to send her only son Ajay out of the house. She only wants the accused punished in the murder case.
The Uttarakhand police plan to slap the "Gangster Act" against Pulkit Arya, the prime accused in the case. DGP Uttarakhand Ashok Kumar said, "For now, we had framed sections 201 & 302 as the accused themselves filed a missing complaint to mislead the case. We will register a separate case under the "Gangster Act" as another in Haridwar has surfaced".
Meanwhile, the SIT working swiftly to gather shreds of evidence and file the charge sheet as soon as possible. In connection with the same, SIT in-charge DIG P Renuka Devi visited Laxmanjhula police station on Monday. There she had a long conversation with the officers of the investigation team and later inspected the crime scene.
