Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the officials to provide financial assistance of ₹25 lakh to the kin of deceased Ankita Bhandari who was allegedly killed by the son of a now-expelled BJP leader. The chief minister’s office said that the government has requested the court to fast-track the hearing to ensure speedy justice for the victim’s family.
“Chief Minister Shri@pushkardhami has directed the officials to give financial assistance of ₹ 25 lakhs to the kin of late Ankita Bhandari. He said that a request has been made to the Hon’ble Court for hearing in the fast track court so that the victim’s family can get speedy justice,” Dhami’s office said in a tweet in Hindi.
On Tuesday, Dhami spoke to the father of Ankita Bhandari and assured him of justice in the case.
“I had spoken to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the phone. He has given full assurance that justice will be served in my daughter’s case,” said Virendra Bhandari, Ankita’s father.
He further stressed on capital punishment for the culprits and said, “We demanded that the culprits be given capital punishment. CM Dhami has also talked about giving full cooperation from the police and administration in the whole matter,” he added.
The SIT probing the murder case recovered a grey Activa and a black Pulsar motorcycle, which were apparently used in the crime. The vehicles are understood to have been used by the accused for taking Ankita to the Chilla canal into which she was pushed by them, an official release said.
The development comes amid criticism of the alleged destruction of evidence in the murder case by an overnight demolition of parts of the resort owned by Pulkit Arya, the prime accused and son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya.
“It seems to me that the proper procedure of a demolition of the so-called illegal resort was not followed in this case. Usually, a show-cause notice is issued before any such exercise is undertaken,” Former Uttarakhand DGP Aloke B Lal told PTI.
“However, in this case, bulldozers razed portions of the resort in the dead of night without any prior notice. The sudden action must have destroyed crucial evidence in the case,” he added.