India News | Govt Counsel Removed from Ankita Bhandari Murder Case Trial

Kotdwar (U'khand), Jul 15 (PTI) Special public prosecutor Jitendra Rawat was on Saturday removed from the Ankita Bhandari murder case.

Ankita (19) was murdered allegedly by Pulkit Arya, the director of 'Vanantra Resort' located in Pauri district, and two of his employees in September last year.

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Ankita's father Virendra Bhandari had urged the district administration to replace Rawat, accusing him of weakening the case.

Pauri District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan told a press conference that Virendra Bhandari had given a memorandum on July 6, seeking a change of the special public prosecutor before the next hearing in the case.

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Chauhan said that Rawat has been removed from the case and Ankita's parents have been informed about it.

Earlier, another lawyer associated with the case, additional district government counsel (ADGC), revenue, Amit Sajwan was also removed.

The next hearing in the case is on July 17.

The Uttarakhand police had in December last year filed the charge sheet in a Kotdwar court against the three accused.

Saurabh Bhaskar, Ankit Gupta and Pulkit Arya, the son of a former state BJP leader and the operator of the resort where Ankita Bhandari worked, have been charged under several IPC sections, including murder.

The victim was allegedly thrown into the Chilla canal by the three accused.

(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)