Amid fresh demands for a CBI investigation into the Ankita Bhandari murder case, Haridwar SP (Rural) Shekhar Suyal said the investigation found no involvement of any “VIP”.
Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, Suyal said the person whose name surfaced in chats and during questioning was Ankita’s friend, Dharmendra Kumar, also known as Pradhan, who is a resident of Noida. He clarified that the man was not a VIP.
“During the investigation, questioning revealed that he had come to the area for some work two days before Ankita’s murder and had briefly stopped at the Vanantra Resort for a short time to have a meal,” Suyal said.
He added that this information was verified through the resort’s records and statements of the staff members.
Meanwhile, Urmila Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, recently released videos and audio recordings of her alleged interactions with Rathore. She alleged that the ‘VIP’ in the Bhandari murder case was a person named ‘Gattu’.
In another video, she claimed that Gattu was a senior BJP leader in Uttarakhand. Rathore, who has since been expelled from the BJP, denied the allegations. He said his voice in the clips was generated using artificial intelligence and claimed the audios were circulated to damage his political image.
The Uttarakhand government on Friday said it was open to any probe into the murder case, if credible evidence is placed before the authorities.
Opposition leaders have renewed their demand for a CBI investigation into the fresh allegations as well as the murder case. In the case, three accused were sentenced to life imprisonment after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort in Pauri district, was allegedly murdered on September 18, 2022. The state government had formed an SIT to probe the incident.
A court later sentenced Pulkit Arya, the owner of the resort and son of a BJP leader, along with two others, to life imprisonment in the case.
Also Read: BJP leader wants video linking him to Ankita murder removed
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