Ankita Bhandari worked as a female receptionist at the Vantara Resort in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, from 2003 to 2022. On September 18, 2022, she was allegedly murdered by Pulkit Arya, the son of BJP leader Vinod Arya and proprietor of the Vantara Resort. Ankita’s body was retrieved from the Chilla canal’s barrage, where the accused had put her, on September 24, 2022.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Ankita Bhandari was born in Srikot, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand in 2003.
Virendra Singh Bhandari, Ankita Bhandari’s father, is a former security guard. Soni Devi, her mother, is an Aanganwadi worker. Ajay Singh Bhandari, her elder brother, works in a private firm in Delhi.
Pushap Deep, a Jammu inhabitant, was Ankita Bhandari’s boyfriend.
Pushap was the one who tweeted three times after Ankita went missing on September 20, 2022.
EDUCATION
Ankita attended B R Modern School in Pauri, Pauri Garhwal, from grade 4 to grade 12. Ankita, a talented girl, received 88% in her class 12 examination.
After finishing her 12th grade, Ankita pursued a diploma in hotel management and began working as a receptionist at Vantara Resort.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Height (approx.): 5′ 3″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
CAREER
Ankita Bhandari started working as a receptionist at Vantara Resort in Rishikesh, Uttrakhand, on August 28, 2022.
DEATH
Ankita Bhandari was allegedly murdered on September 18, 2022, by Pulkit Arya, the son of BJP politician Vinod Arya and owner of the Vantara Resort in Rishikesh (where Ankita worked before her death), and two others. Ankit, the resort manager, and Saurabh, Pulkit’s friend, are also accused of being engaged in the murder.
On September 24, 2022, her body was retrieved from the Chilla canal’s barrage (where the accused had put her).
According to Ankita’s post-mortem report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh, she drowned. According to the study, the woman looked to have suffered injuries consistent with blunt force trauma prior to her death. Ankita’s parents refused to perform her death rites until the final post-mortem report was made public, citing their dissatisfaction with the provisional result. Ankita’s father claimed during a media interview regarding the situation, “Her final rites would not be carried out until we receive the final complete report.”
However, following appeals from the local authorities and Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the family surrendered. Dhami, who described the incident as “unfortunate,” assured the family that the trial would be expedited and that the accused would face the worst punishment possible. He stated, “It is natural for individuals to be upset during such times. The government will offer the victim’s family with whatever help they require. The police are on the job, and they have completed their task of making arrests. Whoever committed such atrocious atrocities will face the harshest punishment.”
Ankita’s body was transported to the NIT Ghat in Srinagar on September 25, 2022, and her body was set ablaze by her brother in front of a big crowd.
Many prominent state politicians, including Tirath Singh Rawat, a serving Member of Parliament and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, and Rajendra Bhandari, a Congress MLA from Badrinath, expressed their condolences and offered assistance to her family.
