Cong demands CBI completes probe into Ankita Bhandari murder within 6 months
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday demanded that the CBI completes its probe into the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Uttarakhand within six months without any pressure or impartiality and initiates action against those who destroyed evidence.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has recommended a CBI inquiry into the 2022 murder of a 19-year-old resort receptionist following requests from her parents.
The state unit of the Congress had been demanding an investigation by the federal probe agency in the wake of fresh evidence coming up in the case.
Congress women's wing president Alka Lamba demanded that the CBI conduct an independent investigation into the "VIP angle" and ensure strict compliance with safety norms at workplaces.
"We want the CBI to conduct an independent investigation of the VIP angle, take action against those who issued orders to destroy evidence, take action against the MLA who destroyed evidence, ensure strict compliance with safety laws at women's workplaces and fix accountability for those providing political protection.
"We also want a mandatory independent investigation mechanism for such cases in the future, and the CBI should take the case to its conclusion within six months without pressure and with impartiality," she told reporters.
Lamba also said the BJP should keep the "criminals" associated with the case away from the process for justice, so that action can be taken with impartiality and Ankita Bhandari can get justice.
The Mahila Congress president said Ankita's father has been mentioning some people who are considered important in the case and asked why the special investigation team has not questioned them.
A bulldozer was deployed to tear down the resort and destroy all evidence because Ankita lived in that very resort, Lamba said.
"Why was a bulldozer run on the resort by the local BJP MLA without a judicial order? Why was the identity of the VIP not made public by the SIT? Did any VIP's name come up in the entire investigation by the SIT?
"Do women's safety schemes not apply to power-protected institutions, and is the life of a daughter from a poor family less valuable? What is the guarantee that the accused in this case will not be released from jail, and when will action be taken against those who destroy evidence? After all, who in this case are the political people providing protection?" she asked.
In 2022, Ankita Bhandari was murdered by Pauri's Vanantra Resort owner Pulkit Arya, the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two of his employees. All three were sentenced to life imprisonment in this case.
A demand for a CBI probe into the 2022 killing gathered pace after Urmila Sanawar, an actress who claimed to be the wife of MLA Suresh Rathore, alleged the involvement of a 'VIP' in the murder.
She recently released videos on social media and audio recordings of her conversations, purportedly with Rathore, alleging the involvement of a 'VIP' in the Ankita murder case.
In another video, she claimed that the 'VIP' is BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam. Since then, several FIRs have been registered against her and Rathore in Dehradun and Haridwar.
