India News | Charges Framed Against 3 Accused in Ankita Bhandari Murder Case

Kotdwar (UKD), Mar 18 (PTI) Charges were framed against the three accused, including the main accused Pulkit Arya, in a court here on Saturday in the Ankita Bhandari murder case of Uttarakhand.

The three have been charged with murder, destruction of evidence, and immoral trafficking, Assistant District Government Advocate Jitendra Rawat said.

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Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankit Gupta were produced in the court on Saturday amid heavy police deployment as Congress workers staged a demonstration raising slogans and demanding death for them.

The matter will be heard next on March 28 when the prosecution side will produce witnesses.

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The District and Sessions Court had earlier rejected the bail plea of the accused considering the gravity of the allegations, Rawat said.

Around 100 witnesses have been included in the 500-page charge sheet filed by the police in the court based on the deliberations by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Bhandari, 19, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Ganga Bhogpur area of ??Pauri district, was allegedly thrown into the Chilla canal by the resort's owner Arya along with two of his employees, Bhaskar and Gupta, in September last year.

Preliminary investigation had then revealed that Bhandari was killed for refusing to provide "special services" to a VIP guest.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)