Rishikesh: The Gangster Act has been invoked against the three accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, said Pauri Garhwal Senior Superintendent of Police Sweta Choubey.
"Gangster Act has been invoked on the three accused, including Pulkit Arya, the main accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case," Choubey told ANI. On being asked about the factory owned by Pulkit Arya catching fire on Sunday, she said that the fire occurred due to suspicious circumstances.
Earlier today, a factory owned by Pulkit Arya, who is the main accused in Ankita Bhandari's murder, caught fire. The Pulkit Arya-owned Amla Candy factory in Ganga Bhogpur in Uttarakhand caught fire due to a short circuit in its inverter fitting, SHO Vinod Singh Gunsai of Lakshman Jhula police station said.
The SHO said that the fire was brought under control with the help of three fire tenders, after two hours.
Nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari was missing for at least six days before her body was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24. Pulkit Arya, the son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, was arrested in the case for allegedly pushing her into the canal following an altercation. Besides Pulkit Arya, two more people were arrested in the case.
"After interrogating the witnesses related to the incident and the statement given by the accused- under police custody- it is found that all are matching among themselves", DIG Renuka Devi investigating the case had said.
Asked about VIPs visiting Vanantara resort (owned by Arya), where Ankita was working as a receptionist, she said that after interrogating the staff working in the resort, it was found that there is a different category of rooms in the resort, referred to as top class rooms and those who stay in those rooms are generally called 'VIPs'.
The Ankita Bhandari murder case has sparked a massive outrage and protests were reported from various parts of the state. Angry locals even set on fire the resort where Ankita worked. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami then ordered officials to ensure law and order in the state.
Ankita used to work as a receptionist at the Vanatara resort owned by Pulkit Arya in Rishikesh.
Authorities had demolished parts of the resort, saying the structures were illegally constructed.
But this action had raised fears that crucial evidence relating to the case may have been compromised. The police, however, assured that a forensic team had collected evidence before the demolition. —ANI