‘Punished’ for raising Ankita Bhandari murder case, says Oppn after journalist arrested in Uttarakhand

On September 18, 2022 Bhandari, 19, who was a receptionist at former BJP leader and state minister Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya’s Vanantra Resort, was allegedly pushed into a canal by Pulkit after an altercation.

State Congress chief Karan Mahara said, “With the power of government and police, the BJP is working to cover up the crimes of its party leaders… The involvement of BJP leader’s son in the murder of Uttarakhand’s daughter Ankita Bhandari is well known. But instead of getting them punished, those raising the voice of the victim are getting punished.”

“When journalist Ashutosh Negi complained about the continuous threats he received, instead of providing him security, the police arrested him. This shows BJP’s true nature,” he said.

Dismissing Congress’s allegations, BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan reiterated that the arrest is unrelated to the murder case and said that people have already rejected Congress’s alleged attempts to politicise the case and underlined that the investigative agencies have operated “impartially”.