Congress accuses BJP of shielding ‘VIP’ in Ankita Bhandari murder case, demands CBI probe

PTI, Dec 5, 2022, 5:54 PM IST

The Congress’ Uttarakhand unit on Monday accused the state’s BJP government of hiding the name of the ”VIP” that cropped up in the Ankita Bhandari murder case and demanded a CBI probe, saying it was necessary for the sake of justice.

”The BJP government is hiding the name of the VIP. People have lost confidence in the investigation being carried out by the police. A CBI probe is needed so that the victim’s kin get justice,” the Congress’ Uttarakhand unit chief Karan Mahara said.

Bhandari, 19, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantara Resort in Ganga Bhogpur area of Pauri district near Rishikesh, was allegedly pushed into the Chilla canal by the resort’s operator Pulkit Arya and his two employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, in September for resisting their attempts to force her to offer ”special services” to a VIP guest.

The name of the VIP should be disclosed and the meaning of ”special service” explained, Mahara said.

”The police have been busy demolishing evidence related to the case from day one under pressure from the BJP government. As it involved a BJP leader, the missing report in the case was registered very late. It was also stuck amid jurisdictional issues between revenue and regular police.

”The accused were arrested a week after the crime and taken on remand several days after being held. Portions of the resort were promptly demolished, a factory inside it was set aflame and Ankita’s bed was thrown into a pool,” he said. ”All this raises doubts about the way in which the case has been handled by the police,” Mahara said.

Uttarakhand Police on Sunday said it would file a chargesheet in the case in 10 days and also conduct a narco test on the accused to bring out the truth about the alleged VIP link. The accused in police remand and the members of staff have told the police during interrogation that people staying in the resort’s presidential suite were called VIPs.