A court in Uttarakhand on Friday convicted the three accused in the 2022 murder case of a 19-year-old receptionist in Pauri district.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi in Kotdwar, who heard the final arguments between the defence and the prosecution on May 19, sentenced Pulkit Arya, the owner of the Vanantara resort near Rishikesh, and two of his employees, to life imprisonment for the murder of Ankita Bhandari, who was killed on September 18, 2022.
The prosecution said that Ankita and Pulkit, the son of now-expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, had a dispute over something, after which the latter, along with his two employees -- Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta -- pushed her into a canal.
Her body was recovered from the canal on September 24, following which the police arrested the three accused and sent them to jail.
The first hearing of the case started on January 30, 2023.
After an investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), a 500-page chargesheet was filed in the court by the prosecution.
After the charges were framed against the three accused, the testimony of the prosecution started on March 28, 2023.
During the hearing, 47 witnesses, including the investigator, were reportedly examined in the court.
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