Denying the allegation of the 19-year-old receptionist, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya, the father of the prime accused in the murder, on Sunday called his son Pulkit Arya a 'seedha sadha balak' (a simple boy).
"Seedha sadha balak hai (he is a simple boy). He is only concerned about his work. I want justice for both my son Pulkit and Ankita Bhandari (the murdered woman)," the former BJP minister said.
"My son would never indulge in such activities," he added.
BJP expels Vinod Arya:
The BJP on Saturday expelled Vinod Arya and Ankit Arya, the father and brother of main accused Pulkit Arya, with immediate effect.
However, the expelled minister claimed that he himself resigned from the party on Saturday to ensure a fair and impartial investigation in the case.
"Although Pulkit is innocent, I left the BJP to guarantee a fair investigation. Ankit, my son, has also resigned," he stated.
Meanwhile, Pulkit Arya and two others, including the resort manager have been arrested in connection with their alleged involvement in the murder of a 19-year-old receptionist, who was found dead by the Uttarakhand police earlier this week.
Accused confessed to the crime say police:
According to an India Today report, in police custody, the accused confessed that they pushed her into a canal near the resort after a personal dispute, following which she drowned, according to the police.
The resort is located in Yamkeshwar block of the Pauri district and is owned by Pulkit Arya. The body of the girl, identified as Ankita Bhandari, was found in Pauri Garhwal's Nandalsun belt on Friday by the Uttarakhand police. The girl had been missing for the last four days from the resort located in Rishikesh, where she used to work.
Post-mortem report:
Ankita Bhandari's post-mortem result was released on Saturday, as per the report suffocation from drowning was her cause of death. The report also revealed that there were injuries discovered on the corpse before to death that were consistent with blunt force trauma.
The killing of the girl has led to massive outrage and protests in Rishikesh.
Massive outrage over the girl's murder:
While videos surfaced online showing dozens of people gathered outside the resort and vandalizing it on Friday, on Sunday, angry people took to the streets demanding justice for the girl.
Enraged locals blocked the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway in front of the mortuary, near the base hospital, where Ankita Bhandari's body was taken to. They demanded that the post-mortem report be made public.
SIT report:
The SIT on Sunday told ANI that her Whatsapp chats were also being probed.
As per reports a WhatsApp chat has come to the fore in the investigation. According to police sources, in this chat, Ankita is telling her friend that the owner of the resort is pressuring her to provide 'extra service' to the guests. There is a lot of anger among people after the murder of the receptionist.
As per a viral chat, it is alleged that it was being said that the guest would get 'extra service' for Rs 10,000. In the WhatsApp chat, there is talk of providing 'extra service' in the name of providing spa treatment at the Vanatara Resort.
(with sources inputs)
