Ankita Bhandari murder case: SIT to file charge sheet this week

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], December 15 (ANI): A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case will file a charge sheet in the court against the three accused this week, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) P Renuka, the SIT in-charge has confirmed.
The DIG told ANI, “SIT has almost completed probe. We’ll file the chargesheet this week. We’ve applied for the NARCO test of the 3 accused, we’ll do it if the court permits.”
The body of 19-year-old Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at a resort run by Pulkit Arya, the son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, was recovered from Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24.
She was reported missing for at least six days before the officials found her dead body.
Pulkit Arya was arrested for allegedly pushing her into the canal following an altercation. Two more people – Ankit Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar, were also arrested in the case.
Under fire from the Opposition parties over the incident, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promptly expelled Vinod Arya.
On December 4, the Uttarakhand Police said that the investigation into the Ankita Bhandari murder case is almost complete with just the Narco tests of the accused remaining.
“An application will be filed in the court for the narco test of Ankita’s killers, including the main accused Pulkit Arya. Things will be clearer after the narco test is done. Our investigation is almost complete,” Chief Spokesperson of the Uttarakhand Police headquarters Additional Director General (ADG) V Murgeshan said addressing a press conference on December 4.
Ankita’s mother Sona Devi and father Virender Singh Bhandari filed a petition in the Nainital High Court, in November, seeking an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case.
The Pushkar Singh Dhami government has invoked the Gangster Act against the three accused. (ANI)