Ankita Bhandari murder case: Mother claims she was 'tricked', 'Didn't let me see her'

The mother of the 19-year-old receptionist, whose murder sparked massive protests in Uttarakhand, claimed that her daughter was hastily cremated and that she never got to see her body.

Reportedly, she accused that the administration tricked her into going to a hospital on the pretext of taking her to her daughter. A video has surfaced where she can be seen claiming she was fine and was ferried to a hospital on false pretext.

The video shows visibly upset mother complaining, "They took my husband along forcibly, but didn't take me. They brought me here from the forest where I live, saying I will see my daughter." She also said that she kept askingt where they were taking her, however, they reassured her saying that they were taking her to her daughter.

The mother said, "Doctors then put me in a wheelchair. I asked why was it needed but they took me to a hospital. They then forcibly put me on intravenous sugar solution and started recording a video."

Further narrating her ordeal, the deceased's mother said that four-five people came to her and said they would take her to the cremation site. "I said I am her mother, I won't do anything until I see her. I said I won't budge until you show me my daughter. I wasn't unwell at all. They tricked me into coming here. I was sitting at the civic body's office. This is just for show, they have betrayed us," she said.

The last rites were performed at NIT ghat in Srinagar, Pauri Garwhal. The body of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari who was reported missing a few days ago was also recovered on Saturday from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh. Bhandari was killed in Uttarakhand allegedly by the hotel's owner, a BJP leader's son, and two others after she resisted their alleged attempts to push her into prostitution.

The son of now expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta have been arrested. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be formed to probe the case.

Published on: Monday, September 26, 2022, 01:50 PM IST