DEHRADUN: Hundreds of people on Tueday took out a Tiranga Yatra from Ankita Bhandari's ancestral home demanding a CBI probe into her murder.
The nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer and her body was recovered from the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.
After the Yatra was stopped at the Barrage bridge, a heated exchange broke out between the police and protesters. The police detained 32 people after the ruckus.
Pauri Garhwal Additional SP Shekhar Suyal said that entry to the resort is prohibited and the resort is currently under police supervision and an SIT probe is underway.
People's anger over the murder of Ankita Bhandari continues unabated. The protesters demanded that they did not trust the SIT formed by the government, the real truth would come out only after a CBI probe. With this demand, Tiranga yatra was taken out from Ankita's village today via Rishikesh to Vantara Resort.
The protesters and student organisations are adamant about demanding a CBI probe into the Bhandari murder case. On reaching Rishikesh, locals extended their support to the Tiranga rally and headed towards the resort of Pulkit Arya, the main accused in the Ankita murder case, in Ganga Bhogpur.
Due to security reasons at the Barrage bridge, the police of Laxman Jhula police station stopped the protesters by putting up barricades, on which angry protesters started sloganeering there. Women protesters also sat on the road and started shouting slogans.
All India Congress Committee member Jayendra Ramola said the name of the VIP was being deliberately concealed as the VIP was none other than a senior RSS functionary. He warned that he would soon sit on fast unto death.
Ankita Bhandari, 19, a resident of Pauri district, was a receptionist at Vantara Resort in Yamkeshwar block. The resort belongs to Pulkit Arya, son of a senior BJP leader. It is alleged that Pulkit Arya had pressurised Ankita Bhandari to give "special service" to VIP guests visiting the resort
On September 18, Ankita and Pulkit had an argument over the same issue. The same evening, on the pretext of going on a drive, Pulkit also took two managers with him and killed Ankita by pushing her into the Chila river.