No evidence destroyed in Ankita case, all already collected, assures DIG

The Uttarakhand Police, which is probing the horrific Ankita Bhandari murder, said on Monday that a forensic team had already collected evidence from accused Pulkit Arya’s Vanatara resort in Rishikesh before illegal constructions at the site were demolished through bulldozer action.
“Even before the bulldozers started on Vanatara Resort, the forensic team had collected all the evidence present there, after examining the resort closely. All the evidence found there during the forensic investigation is safe and analysis of that evidence is underway,” DIG P Renuka Devi, in charge of the SIT probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case, told ANI.

Protests in various parts of the state were reported after 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was murdered. Expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya is an accused in the case. The body of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was recovered on September 24 from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh.
The incident sparked massive outrage and angry locals had even set the resort afire. Before that, portions of the resort were bulldozed by the local authorities who claimed they were illegally constructed.
The incident of the resort being set ablaze and the earlier bulldozer action had also triggered fears that crucial evidence may have been destroyed.
Meanwhile, an intervention application was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking the abolition of a century-old practice of the Revenue Police System in Uttarakhand in the wake of Ankita Bhandari’s murder case.
The intervention application was filed by Uttrakhand journalist Anu Pant through advocates Rituparn Uniyal, Abhishek Kumar, Deeksha Saggi and Nayan Mishra. The intervention application has been filed seeking abolition of a century-old practice of the Revenue Police System in many parts of the State of Uttarakhand wherein the handling of crime/offences by the Revenue Police has resulted in a law-and-order situation.
The fresh application was filed in wake of the recent unfortunate and distressing incident of the Murder of a 19 years old girl named Ankita Bhandari near Chilla Canal in Rishikesh, Yamkeshwar Block, District Pauri Garhwal, who fell victim to the century-old practice of Revenue Police System in the State of Uttarakhand.
19-year-old Ankita Bhandari joined the job of a receptionist in Vanantra Resort situated at Chilla Road near Rishikesh a month ago and went on missing on September 18 from the resort.
Her father, who was not being able to contact and locate his daughter, came to Rishikesh in search of his daughter but that poor man was made to run from pillar to post by the police and revenue authorities, the application said.
“The father immediately after arriving Rishikesh went to Police Station Kotwali Rishikesh from where he was sent to Police Station Laxman Jhula at night. After enquiring about his missing daughter at the Police Station Laxman Jhula the police officials told him that his complaint would be registered by the Patwari concerned as the place from where the daughter went missing falls within the Revenue Police jurisdiction,” the intervention application said.
When the father went to concerned Patwari Choki, he found that the owner of the resort, a suspect in the matter and others were already present and they lodged a missing complaint against unknown persons with the Patwari Chowki, the application said.
The patwari categorically refused to hear grievances and doubts of the victim’s father and misbehaved with him, the applicant said.
Later the suspects were arrested in the matter by the Laxman Jhula police station after the public outrage and the local media’s attention as the District Magistrate, Pauri who vide his Letter dated 21.09.2022, in the late evening, ordered the transfer of investigation from Revenue Police to Regular Police.