Days after the brutal murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, it has come to light that the son of an ex-BJP politician tried to coerce her into prostitution. The accused, identified as one Pulkit Arya, is the owner of the resort where the victim worked as a receptionist.
The matter came to light after the Special Investigation Team probed the Whatsapp conversation between Ankita and her friend (name withheld). The victim confided in her friend about how Pulkit was forcing her to provide ‘special services’ to the guests.
“They are trying to turn me into a prostitute…I may be poor, but I won’t sell myself for Rs 10,000”, Ankita said in one Whatsapp message. She also informed her friend how the resort owner tried to forcibly kiss her in a drunken state.
Ankita also told her friend how one of the resort guests hugged her in a drunken state. The victim was however intimidated into silence by one of the co-accused Ankit Gupta, who worked as the assistant of Pulkit Arya.
#BREAKING on #JusticeForAnkita | Massive revelation in Ankita Bhandari’s Whatsapp chats with friend, chats reveal she was forced into ‘wrongful acts’
— Republic (@republic) September 24, 2022
Tune in here – https://t.co/pJdhfom7Rz pic.twitter.com/AjPmWhLuBW
“Today, Ankit came to me and told me that he wanted to talk to me about something. I agreed and went to a corner near my reception desk. There, he asked me if I was ready to give ‘extra services’ to a guest who was willing to pay Rs 10,000 to your resort,” her message read.
Ankita added, “To my reply, he then tried to clarify and say that he was not asking me to do it but to inform him in case I knew of any other girl who might be willing. But I know that he had directed that offer towards me only, thinking I might agree after learning of the amount (sic).”
The victim was also threatened that she would be fired from her job and replaced with another girl if she refused to give in to the demands of Pulkit Arya. Ankita also told her friend how her room in the resort was being shifted on the directions of the accused.
My room has been shifted. In Sir’s (Pulkit Arya) room for a few days, because many guests are to come…It seems safe till now,” she had said.
Ankita Bhandari murder case
As per reports, Ankita worked as a receptionist in the Yamkeshwar Vidhan Sabha’s Ganga Bhojpur resort named Vanantra resort, owned by Pulkit Arya. She was reported missing from September 18.
The police launched an investigation after the girl’s family reported a missing case and feared murder. Ankita was murdered after she turned down the demand of the resort owner for sexual favours.
Three people were arrested by the Uttarakhand Police on September 23, in connection with the killing of Ankita Bhandari. The three people detained were identified as resort manager Ankit, Saurabh, and Pulkit Arya, the son of former state politician Vinod Arya.
The police interrogated the three accused who confirmed that Ankita Bhandari had been murdered. According to ASP Shekhar Suyal, the three accused murdered the girl and threw her in the Rishikesh Chila barrage. The dead body of the girl was recovered later.
