Uttarakhand: In Ankita Bhandari murder case, JCB was driven to the resort only on the request of BJP MLA Renu Bisht, witness recorded statement in High Court

The testimony of a witness in the much talked about Ankita Bhandari murder case of Uttarakhand has once again created a stir. Important revelations came from the testimony of the driver driving the JCB at Vanantara Resort. The driver told that he had driven the JCB to the resort only on the instructions of the BJP MLA.

Proceedings are going on in the court in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. After the Ankita murder case, when the local people created an uproar over immoral activities taking place in the resort, a JCB was brought to the resort. JCB driver Deepak, who was made a witness in this case, has recorded his statement in the court, in which he has said that at the behest of the then SDM and BJP MLA, he had driven the JCB to the Vanantara Resort of Pulkit Arya, the main accused in the Ankita murder case.

Deepak, who lives in Shyampur, Rishikesh, recorded his statement in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi. Deepak told that on the instructions of the then SDM and current Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht, he had driven JCB on the resort twice and broke the gate, boundary wall and walls and windows of two rooms of the resort with the JCB. According to defense advocates Anuj Pundir and Amit Sajwan, Deepak told the court that he used to drive Satyendra Singh Rawat’s JCB during that time. It was on his instructions that he went to Vanantara Resort in a JCB on 23 September 2022. Once after driving the JCB there, Deepak went to Haridwar with the JCB.

Was called from Haridwar again – witness

He had just reached the Shiva idol in Haridwar when the personal assistant of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht called and asked him to again take a JCB to reach the resort. When he again reached the resort in JCB, MLA Renu Bisht was also present there. On the instructions of BJP MLA Renu Bisht, he also broke the walls and windows of two rooms. The MLA had kept him in an adjacent room in the resort that night. Apart from Deepak, the prosecution also presented two police personnel, Ravindra Singh and Rajveer Singh, posted at Laxman Jhula police station on the day of the incident as witnesses in the court.

Many questions arose from the testimony

Since the beginning of the Ankita murder case, the local BJP MLA has been accused of working to destroy evidence from the resort. Although she has been denying this, but after the testimony of the JCB driver, it has become clear that the JCB was driven to the resort only on the instructions of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht. It is believed that if the crime scene at the resort had been protected after Ankita’s murder, many important evidences could have been found. After the testimony of the JCB driver, it has become clear that the resort was vandalized with a JCB and important evidence was destroyed.

Ankita Bhandari went missing on 18 September 2022

Accused Ankit’s advocates Ajay and Narendra Gosai said that 33 people have testified so far in this case. The SIT investigating the case has produced 97 witnesses in the case. Now the next hearing in this case will be on January 5. 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari worked as a receptionist at Vanantara Resort located in Ganga Bhogpur area of Pauri district near Rishikesh. Ankita Bhandari suddenly went missing from the resort on 18 September 2022. During this time, resort owner Pulkit Arya had filed a missing report of Ankita.

Ankita Bhandari’s body was found on 24 September 2022

Ankita’s body was recovered from Chilla Canal on 24 September 2022. After Ankita’s body was found, the police arrested the resort owner Pulkit Arya and two employees, who are currently lodged in Pauri jail. BJP leader Vinod Arya, father of Pulkit Arya, was shown the way out by the party. At the same time, Ankita’s father Virendra Bhandari, after the testimony of JCB driver Deepak in this case, has demanded from CM Pushkar Singh Dhami that the membership of Yamkeshwar MLA should be canceled and a case should be registered against him.