Court seeks all evidence related to scene of Ankita Bhandari murder case

The Nainital High Court has sought all evidence related to the scene of the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The court has given the Special Investigation Team (SIT) time till November 11 to present all the evidence in the court. A single bench of Senior Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra heard the petition filed in this regard.

The petition filed by Ankita's mother Sona Devi and father Virender Singh Bhandari calls for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the murder case.

The lifeless body of 19-year-old Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at a resort run by Pulkit Arya, son of now-expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, was recovered from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh on September 24, this year. She was reported missing for at least six days before being found dead.

The expelled BJP leader's son was arrested for his alleged involvement in the case. Under fire from the Opposition parties over the incident, the BJP government led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promptly expelled Vinod Arya.

Amid calls from the victim's family that the probe is transferred to the CBI, the Gangster Act was invoked against the three accused in the case, including the main accused Pulkit Arya.