Son of BJP Leader Arrested for Murdering a 19 Year Old
A BJP leader's son and two employees of a resort he owns in Uttarakhand were arrested on 23rd of September, for allegedly killing its receptionist.
A BJP leader's son and two employees of a resort he owns in Uttarakhand's Pauri district were arrested on Friday 23rd of September, for allegedly killing its receptionist, who had been missing for the last few days, police said. The 19-year-old girl Ankita was a resident of Srikot village in Pauri Garhwal. She had been working as a receptionist at the private resort owned by a BJP Politician Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya in the Laxman Jhula area. Vinod Arya is a BJP leader from Haridwar, and was formerly one of the state ministers. However, Vinod Arya does not hold any post in the Uttarakhand BJP at present. The 19-year-old Ankita was reported to be missing on 18th September. According to police sources, she went to Rishikesh that night around 8 o'clock with Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and another accused named Ankit, alias Pulkit Gupta. On the way back, the trio stopped to drink alcohol on the side of a canal along Chila Road. The girl had to wait for them to finish their drinks. After some time, a fight broke out between the trio and the girl. The girl accused the three men of carrying out illegal activities at the resort owned by Pulkit Arya and threatened to go public. In a rage of anger, the three allegedly pushed the girl into the canal.
Ankita’s parents lodged a missing complaint at a Revenue police outpost after they did not find her in her room the next morning, police said. In Uttarakhand, the revenue police have the power to investigate cases.
Revenue police Sub-Inspector Vivek Kumar at Ganga Bhogpur Talla was suspended for not registering a report immediately in the matter, making the victim's parents wait for two hours, and misbehaving with them, the officials said. Later, Pulkit Arya, Bhaskar, and Gupta were arrested after they confessed to having killed the woman. They threw her body into the Cheela canal. The case was then transferred to normal Uttarakhand police. Initially, they tried to mislead police, but they confessed to the crime when they were interrogated. A team has been sent to take the woman's body out of the canal, the ASP said. A Kotdwar court sent the three accused to 14-day judicial custody, police said. The missing report had been converted to a murder case. However, the father of the girl alleged that the girl was molested by the accused and the audio of the incident Had been recorded. Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal Police also arrested the main accused, Pulkit Arya, who is the owner of the resort, along with assistant manager Ankit Gupta and manager Saurabh Bhaskar. All three accused were presented before a court on Friday, 23rd of September and were sent to 14 days of judicial custody. On the same day, Rishikesh residents staged demonstrations and protested against the grave crime.
In visuals accessed by India Today, hundreds of civilians were seen surrounding a police vehicle, allegedly carrying the three murders accused. Visuals showed women in great numbers, some even leaning into the police vehicle in an attempt to confront the alleged murderers. Angry locals even vandalised the resort owned by the main accused, Pulkit. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has instructed district magistrates to investigate every resort in the state. He further directed authorities to ensure that strict and necessary action is implemented against resorts that are operating illegally or without legal compliance. What do you think about his case? Do mention your thoughts in the comment section below.
