Ankita Bhandari Case: How Moon’s Position Helped Expose the Truth Behind Her Murder

Kotdwar: Uttarakhand's Ankita Bhandari case had shocked everyone. The court has sentenced the three accused of this case, Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, to life imprisonment. After the court's announcement of the sentence, revelations have come to light during the investigation. In fact, the claim of the main culprit in the Yamkeshwar resort murder case was proved false by none other than the moon itself. Soon after Pulkit Arya and his two companions were convicted in the resort murder case on Friday, P. Renuka Devi, head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case, told what happened on the night of the murder? The discrepancies in Pulkit's statements were caught with the help of the Meteorological Observatory.

Pulkit Arya, the owner of Vanantara Resort and son of expelled BJP leader and former minister Vinod Arya, had claimed that the 19-year-old receptionist died after accidentally falling into the barrage. He further alleged that the incident took place at around 9 pm. He and his companions saw the victim falling. They also tried to save her. To verify this claim, we contacted the Meteorological Observatory in Kolkata. The observatory confirmed that the moon had risen in that area only around 11 pm.

Pulkit's lie exposed

Thus, Pulkit's claim that there was natural light to see someone was found to be false, said P. Renuka Devi, currently working as DIG with the CBI in Jaipur. In fact, it was very dark at 9 pm that night. It was possible to see in the forest near the barrage only by using a mobile phone torch. CCTV footage from the barrage also proved to be an important part of the evidence.

P. Renuka said that for the first time the post-mortem was conducted by doctors from AIIMS Rishikesh, who also visited the crime scene. They helped determine from what height the victim fell into the barrage. The doctors assessed the nature of her injuries. This played an important role in solving the case.

SIT was formed

Actually, receptionist Ankita Bhandari went missing from Vanantara Resort on September 18. When the action did not proceed even after the complaint of the parents, the matter heated up on social media. After this the police investigation intensified. Pulkit Arya and his accomplices were caught. He concocted a story of Ankita falling into the Cheela canal. Ankita's body was recovered from the Cheela canal six days after the incident. In the case, the Pushkar Singh Dhami government formed an SIT on 24 September 2022.

SIT started investigation into Ankita's death in the murder case. Soon after starting the investigation, the SIT took Pulkit Arya and his associates Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta on remand. During interrogation, the secrets of the murder came out.

All three were found guilty

After investigating the Ankita murder case, the SIT submitted a 500-page charge sheet in the court. On the basis of all the evidence and witness statements, the court found Pulkit Arya and his two associates guilty of murdering the receptionist. On Friday, the Kotdwar court sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Out of the three, Pulkit Arya was charged under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC. The other two, Bhaskar and Gupta, were charged under sections 302 and 201 of the IPC. The court found all the charges true.