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In a landmark judgment on May 30, 2025, the Additional District and Sessions Judge Court in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand, convicted all three accused in the 2022 murder of 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Bhandari. The court found Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, along with his associates Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 354A (sexual harassment), as well as provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act .
The prosecution presented a 500-page charge sheet and examined 47 witnesses during the trial. The case had attracted widespread attention due to the involvement of politically connected individuals and led to public outcry across Uttarakhand. Ankita’s mother has publicly demanded the death penalty for the convicts. Sentencing is pending.
The murder had also sparked massive outrage, with protests taking place across various parts of the state. Angered locals even set fire to the resort. It was alleged that Pulkit Arya, owner of the resort, along with Bhaskar and Gupta, pushed Ankita into a barrage and murdered her. Ankita was reported missing for at least six days before police recovered her body from Rishikesh’s Chilla canal on September 24, 2022 .
The case was initially being probed by a special investigation team (SIT) headed by deputy inspector general of police P Renuka Devi. During the investigation, former employees of the Vanantra resort had said that Arya, son of a former BJP minister, and Gupta used to bring women to the resort and abuse the staff, including women staffers. “They used to abuse and beat the staff for minor mistakes,” said the woman and claimed that in the past, the accused duo had assaulted her too.
This verdict marks a significant development in delivering justice for the victim and her family. The court’s decision has been welcomed by many as a step towards accountability and justice in high-profile cases involving political connections.
