Rishikesh resort murder: No VIP link, prime accused sought favours which victim resisted, says SIT

DEHRADUN: Following the life imprisonment verdict for all three accused in the sensational Rishikesh resort receptionist murder case, questions have resurfaced over the alleged involvement of a ‘VIP'— a claim that sparked widespread outrage and political debate when the case first broke in 2022.

However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, reiterated that it found no evidence of any VIP link.P Renuka Devi, the then DIG (law & order) in Uttarakhand police, who led the SIT and is now posted as DIG, CBI, said: "Our investigation did not reveal any VIP connection. There was no evidence suggesting a high-profile visitor was expected at the resort or that the victim was being pushed to entertain one.

However, the probe uncovered several instances indicating that the prime accused, Pulkit Arya — son of a former BJP leader and resort owner — who is now convicted, was seeking ‘favours' from the 19-year-old receptionist, which she consistently refused.

Based on this, we later added the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act to the charges."Citing more findings of the SIT probe, she said the other staffers, including some witnesses, also denied the ‘VIP' involvement.

"It was found that there were two VIP suites in the resort which were not booked during the time of the crime. Staff members of the resort confirmed the same when questioned," she added.In Dec 2022, during the assembly session, govt had informed the House that "No VIP was to visit or visited the resort." The information was shared by then state minister of parliamentary affairs, Premchand Aggarwal, in reply to a question by opposition's Chakrata MLA and former Congress state president Pritam Singh.