Pauri (Uttarakhand): Amid the ongoing turbulence across the state over the Ankita Bhandari murder case, the local market was shut on Sunday as the locals showed solidarity.
The development came ahead of Ankita's funeral in Garhwal, Srinagar.
Traders of Srinagar kept their business establishments wholly closed. They also demanded capital punishment for the culprits.
Earlier, the family of the deceased refused to perform the last rites as they demanded the handing over of the post-mortem report.
The administration on another hand tried convincing Ankita's family.
"We won't conduct her last rites until her post-mortem report is given. We saw in her provisional report that she was beaten up and thrown in a river. But we're awaiting the final report," said Ajay Singh Bhandari, brother of Ankita Bhandari.
The SIT on Sunday told ANI that her Whatsapp chats were also being probed.
As per reports a WhatsApp chat has come to the fore in the investigation. According to police sources, in this chat, Ankita is telling her friend that the owner of the resort is pressuring her to provide 'extra service' to the guests. There is a lot of anger among people after the murder of the receptionist.
The SIT in charge of Ankita Bhandari's murder case, DIG PR Devi, told ANI that Ankita's WhatsApp chats that have surfaced are also being probed.
As per a viral chat, it is alleged that it was being said that the guest would get 'extra service' for Rs 10,000. In the WhatsApp chat, there is talk of providing 'extra service' in the name of providing spa treatment at the Vanatara Resort.
Earlier, the Special Investigation Team in the Ankita Bhandari case also confirmed that every employee of the Vantara resort would be called to the police station.
The statements of these employees would be recorded, the officials said. "We have called every employee in the resort to the police station; we will take everyone's statements. We're running a full background analysis on the resort," said DIG PR Devi, SIT In-charge. —ANI