How A 19-Year-Old’s Refusal Of ‘Special Services’ Ended In Murder: The Ankita Bhandari Case

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Last Updated:May 30, 2025, 20:20 IST

Pressured at a resort to provide ‘special services’ to VIPs, Ankita Bhandari was murdered for resisting. What followed exposed systemic failures & led to a 3-year fight for justice

Protests in support for justice for Ankita Bhandari (Social Media)

Nearly three years after the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari sent shockwaves across Uttarakhand and the country, a Pauri district court on Friday sentenced all three accused to rigorous life imprisonment. The verdict, delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi, found Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta guilty of murder and other serious offences.

THE CRIME THAT SHOOK THE NATION

Ankita Bhandari, a resident of Dobh-Srikot village in Pauri Garhwal, had taken up a job as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Yamkeshwar, near Rishikesh, in August 2022. The resort was owned by Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader and ex-minister of state Vinod Arya. Ankita had reportedly taken the job after financial hardships forced her to leave her hotel management studies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Soon after joining, Ankita came under pressure from Pulkit Arya to provide “special services" to resort guests — a euphemism for sexual favours — in exchange for money. She informed her friend Pushp that she was being offered Rs 10,000 to entertain a VIP guest but was unwilling to comply. According to police and prosecution, she also faced repeated molestation and harassment inside the resort. The accused allegedly feared she might expose their activities, which prosecutors later argued formed the motive behind the murder.

On the night of September 18, 2022, following a confrontation with Pulkit Arya and his aides Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, Ankita was forcibly taken in a vehicle to the Chilla canal. Before being taken, she called Pushp at 8:32 pm and told him that the accused were with her and she was “sensing some fear."

Later that night, the three men pushed her into the fast-flowing water. Her body was recovered six days later, on September 24, after the trio confessed to killing her.

DELAYED ACTION AND SYSTEMIC LOOPHOLES

The investigation initially faltered due to jurisdictional issues. As the resort fell under revenue police jurisdiction, the initial complaint was filed with the local Patwari, Vaibhav Pratap, who neither took action nor escalated the case. He went on leave shortly after. It was only on September 22, after mounting pressure from Ankita’s family and friends, that the case was handed over to regular police.

State Director General of Police Ashok Kumar admitted, “The area where this resort, Vanantra, is located doesn’t fall under regular police. We have a system of patwari (land revenue official) registering FIRs in such areas. He did register a ‘missing person’ FIR, filed by the resort owner himself."

The delay cost investigators precious time. Vaibhav Pratap was later suspended and arrested for negligence and suspected collusion with the accused. The incident had raised concerns on the revenue police system in the state, and Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri had written to the CM, seeking the replacement of the Revenue police with regular police.

A FAMILY’S FIGHT, A NATION’S OUTRAGE

As Ankita’s death became public, it sparked unprecedented public fury. Locals vandalised the Vanantra Resort and set parts of it on fire. The administration later bulldozed portions of the resort, a move that triggered controversy amid allegations of evidence destruction.

Protests broke out across Uttarakhand and beyond, as the case exposed chilling details about sexual exploitation at the resort and alleged political shielding. Pulkit’s father, Vinod Arya, who enjoyed the rank of minister of state in the previous BJP government, was expelled from the party, along with Pulkit’s elder brother.

Despite his expulsion, Vinod Arya publicly defended his son, stating: “Seedha sadha balak hai (he is a simple boy). He is only concerned about his work. I want justice for both my son Pulkit and Ankita Bhandari."

Ankita’s funeral also became a point of controversy, as her mother, Soni Devi, later alleged that government officials and local authorities deliberately prevented her from attending the cremation under the pretext of medical attention. While they forcibly took her husband to the cremation site, she was taken from her remote village home to a hospital instead.

In a video, she was seen stating: “They took my husband along forcibly, but didn’t take me. They brought me here from the forest where I live, saying I will see my daughter. Doctors then put me in a wheelchair. I asked why was it needed but they took me to a hospital. They then forcibly put me on intravenous sugar solution and started recording a video. I wasn’t unwell at all. They tricked me into coming here. This is just for show, they have betrayed us."

THE PROBE AND TRIAL

Under mounting public and political pressure, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by DIG P Renuka Devi, to probe the case. Within 90 days, the SIT filed a 500-page chargesheet based on extensive evidence, including forensic reports, witness testimonies, digital chats, and audio recordings.

According to the FIR quoted in court: “The accused wanted to speak to the father of the deceased… (and) the deceased was further troubled due to this reason. One morning, the deceased was found missing from the resort. She was not in her room. During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused was molesting the deceased in the resort; they were pressuring her to give extra services to the guest, to which the deceased was not agreeable. The applicant (Ankit Gupta) and the co-accused had a sense of fear that perhaps the deceased might reveal it to others. According to the prosecution, on 18.09.2022, the applicant, along with the co-accused, took the deceased out of the resort, they killed the deceased and pushed her into a canal. The dead body of the deceased was recovered on 24.09.2022."

One of the key pieces of evidence was audio clips of conversations between Pulkit Arya and Ankita’s friend Pushp, in which Pulkit tried to mislead and deflect suspicion while Ankita remained missing.

A petition seeking transfer of the case to the CBI was dismissed by the Uttarakhand High Court, which expressed satisfaction with the SIT’s probe.

The trial formally began on January 30, 2023, before the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Kotdwar. Over nearly three years, 47 witnesses were examined from among the 97 listed.

THE VERDICT AND SENTENCING

On May 30, 2025, the court convicted Pulkit Arya under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 354A (molestation and sexual harassment), and provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. Co-accused Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were convicted under murder, destruction of evidence and immoral trafficking charges.

All three were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment.

A FAMILY’S UNFINISHED FIGHT

After the verdict, Ankita’s mother Soni Devi broke down and said: “I request that the accused be hanged… I plead with my sisters that they support her (Ankita’s) mother and father…"

Her father Birendra Bhandari said: “The way my daughter Ankita Bhandari was murdered by the three men, I have been reiterating – ‘death for death’. We hope that all three are sentenced to death. As long as the accused are not hanged, we will have to protest and take to the streets."

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