Dehradun: Virendra Singh Bhandari, the father of 19-year-old Ankita who was allegedly murdered by the son of a now-expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, criticised the Pauri district administration Sunday for demolishing her room at the Vanantra resort in Rishikesh where she worked as a receptionist.
“Why did the administration demolish only one room of the resort where my daughter stayed,” he asked, alleging that the action may have led to destruction of critical forensic evidence. He also said that the family will not cremate Ankita’s body until it receives a copy of the final report of the post mortem conducted Saturday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh.
Pauri SSP Yashwant Singh told ThePrint Sunday: “They [family members] are unwilling to listen to us but we are trying our best to persuade them to conduct Ankita’s last rites. We have assured the family that police are keeping strict watch and there won’t be any tampering with evidence or post mortem report pertaining.”
Ankita, who had joined the upmarket Vanantra resort in Rishikesh as a receptionist in August this year, was reported missing on 18 September from the Chilla Barrage area. Her body was recovered from a canal in Rishikesh Saturday.
The police have arrested three men including her employer Pulkit Arya — son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya — in connection with her death. Police suspect that she was murdered over her refusal to reciprocate advances made by Pulkit Arya and for refusing to provide “additional services” to guests at the resort.
After reports of Arya’s alleged involvement in her death came to light, the Pauri district administration deployed bulldozers Friday night to demolish parts of the resort owned by him on grounds of illegal construction.
Later that night, angry locals stormed the building and set parts of it on fire.
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Post mortem findings
According to the provisional post mortem report, a copy of which is with ThePrint, “asphyxia consequent upon antemortem drowning” has been identified as the cause of death in Ankita’s case. The report adds that doctors found “antemortem injuries on the body, suggestive of blunt force trauma”.
“We are not happy with the post mortem report so far. There may be something suspicious in the present report. They [accused] are politically influential people and can do anything,” Ankita’s father told reporters Sunday morning. He, however, did not elaborate further on what might have led him to doubt the findings of the preliminary post mortem report.
Bhandari also demanded that a fast-track court be set up to bring his daughter’s killers to justice.
Ankita’s brother Ajay, too, said that her body will be taken for cremation to Srikot village only after the family receives a final post mortem report. The demand was reiterated by her uncle M.S. Rana, who said the family wants to know “exactly what happened” to her.
The Uttarakhand government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Ankita Bhandari’s death.
Meanwhile, the BJP has expelled Vinod Arya and his other son, Ankit Arya, from the party.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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Source: The Print
