Uttarakhand government is under a lot of pressure, following the murder of Ankita Bhandari
The top leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was today briefed by the Uttarakhand unit of the party about the recent murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari that shook the entire country. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared details of the case with BJP general secretary BL Santosh at the party headquarters in New Delhi. Uttarakhand government had earlier announced a compensation of Rs 25,00,000 for the victim's family.
The BJP leadership was also informed about attempts to raze the resort building near Rishikesh with bulldozers, where Ankita worked as a receptionist. The victim's family and protestors had initially refused to cremate her body, questioning the demolition of the resort as they said it was an attempt to destroy evidence.
Ankita was allegedly killed by resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his accomplices, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta. All three have been arrested. Pulkit is the son of former BJP minister Vinod Arya, who has been expelled from the party.
The case is being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttarakhand Police.
Following the death of the teen, the state government is under a lot of pressure. The recruitment scam that has come to light also poses a huge embarrassment for the BJP-led government in Uttarakhand.
The teen receptionist was cremated amid massive protests against the police for alleged slow action. The victim's family had also raised questions on the government's action in the case.
The Chief Minister had assured of "harshest action". "This is a very heinous crime. Whoever the culprit is, will not be spared," he said.