Ankita Bhandari murder case: No action taken against BJP leaders yet, claims her mother

Dehradun, Jan 7 (PTI) The mother of Ankita Bhandari, who was allegedly murdered by the owner of the resort where she worked, has accused the Uttarakhand government of not taking any action against the BJP leaders whose names have come forward in the case.

Pleading for justice for her daughter, Soni Devi, in a video message, alleged that the names of BJP MLA from Yamkeshwar, Renu Bisht, and the then Sub-Collector of the area have come up in the case but the state government has not yet taken any action against them.

Sharing the video of Ankita's mother, State Congress President Karan Mahara said, “When will Dhami answer the tears of our daughter Ankita Bhandari's mother?” Devi also alleged that the name of a “VIP” who was being discussed in the case is BJP leader Ajaey Kumar and no action has been taken against him either.

Instead, the state government has filed a false case against social worker Ashutosh Negi, who was helping Devi in the case, and his wife has been transferred to Pithoragarh, she alleged.

She said, "If the case against Negi is not dropped soon and his wife's transfer is not cancelled, she will sacrifice her life." In September 2022, Ankita who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Ganga Bhogpur area of Yamkeshwar, was allegedly pushed into the Chilla Canal near Rishikesh by resort owner Pulkit Arya, along with two of his employees – Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.

It was alleged that Ankita was murdered for refusing to engage in a physical relationship with a “VIP”.

Later speaking to reporters, Mahara said that the entire episode should be investigated under the supervision of a serving judge of the High Court.

He said that Ankita's father has also written a letter to the District Magistrate of Pauri making similar allegations.

Mahara said, “The name of Ajaey Kumar, BJP leader and RSS member, has been revealed in the video and letter. If there is even an iota of truth in these allegations then action should definitely be taken against it.” On the other hand, BJP's state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan termed the Congress's unrestrained allegations against its leaders as a retaliation to its continuous defeat in the elections and said that it is doing “low-level politics”.

In a statement issued here, Chauhan said that Congress has “nothing to do with Ankita or her family, rather it has indulged in character assassination politics by targeting BJP leaders”.

He said, "Congress is trying to defame the character of BJP leaders by using the allegations made in anger by Ankita's family as a shield." The BJP leader warned the Congress that the party will also seek legal action if wild allegations are made against its leaders without any evidence. PTI