Parents To Challenge Life Sentence In High Court, Seek Death Penalty For Convicts
After a Kotdwar district court sentenced Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta to rigorous life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, her parents expressed dissatisfaction and vowed to continue their fight for justice.
Dehradun, May 31 – In the Ankita Bhandari murder case, a district court in Kotdwar on Friday sentenced all three accused – resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two staff members Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta – to life imprisonment.
However, the parents of 19-year-old Ankita, who was murdered in 2022, said they are not satisfied with the verdict and will continue to fight for the death penalty.
Speaking to reporters in tears after the court’s decision, Ankita’s mother, Soni Devi, said, “A bigger battle is yet to be fought so that the killers get the death penalty and people think a thousand times before doing this to anyone’s daughter.”
She added that although the verdict might have given some peace to Ankita’s soul, she would only feel truly satisfied when the culprits receive the harshest punishment.
“Only a mother can understand the pain of losing a daughter,” she said.
The verdict was delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi, who held the three men guilty and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment.
The court also imposed fines: Rs 72,000 on Pulkit Arya and Rs 62,000 each on Bhaskar and Gupta, according to Special Public Prosecutor Avnish Negi.
Ankita Bhandari worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Yamkeshwar, Pauri district, Uttarakhand. On September 18, 2022, she was murdered and her body was later recovered from the Cheela canal in Rishikesh. The police arrested all three accused soon after her body was found.
Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24, six days after she was reported missing. An SIT, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi, initially investigated the case.
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According to the prosecution, there was a dispute between Ankita and Pulkit Arya before the murder. After the argument, Arya, along with his employees Bhaskar and Gupta, allegedly pushed her into the canal.
Pulkit Arya is the son of ex-BJP leader Vinod Arya. After the crime came to light, the BJP expelled Vinod Arya from the party.
Ankita’s father, Virendra Bhandari, also expressed his dissatisfaction with the court’s judgment. He said he would challenge the decision in the High Court.
“Our demand was that the way they killed our daughter, they should also have been given the death penalty,” he told reporters.
He also called for an investigation into the role of Yamkeshwar BJP MLA Renu Bisht and a “VIP” whose names allegedly came up during the investigation.
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Both parents expressed their gratitude to the people for standing by them throughout their struggle. They vowed to continue their legal fight.
“She will be satisfied only when her daughter’s killers get the death penalty while she is alive,” Soni Devi said.
In anticipation of the high-profile verdict, the court premises saw heavy security arrangements with over 450 policemen deployed around the area to maintain law and order.Ankita Bhandari Murder: Parents to Challenge Life Sentence in High Court, Seek Death Penalty for Convicts
The first hearing commenced on January 30, 2023, in the ADJ Court in Kotdwar. Following the SIT’s investigation, a 500-page chargesheet was submitted by the prosecution regarding the murder. After charges were framed against the three accused Vanantra Resort owner Pulkit Arya, employee Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta the prosecution’s testimony began on March 28, 2023.
Over the course of approximately two years and eight months, 47 witnesses, including the investigator, were examined in court by the prosecution. The SIT had identified 97 witnesses in total, but only 47 key witnesses were presented in court.
