Kotdwar: The District Court has convicted all three accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment in Ankita Bhandari murder case, reports Dynamite News correspondent.
The Court sentenced all three accused in the infamous Ankita Bhandari murder case of Uttarakhand to life imprisonment. Earlier today on Friday morning, the Kotdwar District Court had convicted all three accused of murder.
The Additional District and Sessions Court of Kotdwar sentenced the three murder convicts Pulkit Arya, his employee Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta to life imprisonment. Besides, the Court also pronounced a fine of Rs 50,000 each and a verdict to give Rs four lakh to Ankita’s family.
Ankita mysteriously went missing from the hotel on 18 September 2022. Ankita was murdered in September 2022. Her body was recovered from the Cheela canal near Rishikesh.
Just before the court’s decision came, the crowd tried to break the barricading done by the police administration and move towards the court. The police is trying with full force to stop people from going inside.
Hotel Owner Accused
The owner of the Vantara Resort where she worked as a receptionist has been accused of the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari along with two others.
The Body Found In Cheela Canal
It is said that Ankita refused to do wrong things, due to which the hotel owner along with his friends killed Ankita. Ankita’s body was recovered from Cheela canal two days after the murder.
Ankita Bhandari’s father Virendra Singh Bhandari has said before the court’s decision that he wants his daughter’s murderer to be hanged. Virendra Singh Bhandari has said that he has full faith in the judiciary of this country.
This murder shook the entire country. Protests were held at various places in Uttarakhand demanding the arrest of the culprits and their immediate punishment.
500 Page Charge Sheet
After investigation by SIT in Ankita Bhandari murder case, a 500 page charge sheet was filed in the court. Total 97 witnesses in the case were named in the charge sheet.
Out of these 97, 47 witnesses were produced in the court by the prosecution. The court completed the hearing on the basis of the statements and evidence of all the witnesses.
Today that is Friday (30 May) was fixed for the verdict in the case. ADJ Reena Negi has convicted Ankita Bhandari murder accused Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.
Now it has to be seen how much sentence the court announces for the three accused.