Ankita Bhandari murder case: ‘Seedha sadha balak’, says ex-BJP leader on murder charges against son Pulkit Arya

Days after Pulkit Arya confessed to the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who used to work in his resort, his father Vinod Arya, who is a former Bhartiya Janta Party leader, broke his silence on the murder charges leveled against his son.

Vinod Arya, who is the father of prime accused Pulkit Arya, described his son as a “seedha sadha balak” while talking about the charge of murder against him. He further claimed that his son was innocent and that all charges against him were untrue.

As per media reports, Vinod Arya was quoted as saying, “Seedha sadha balak hai (he is a simple boy). He is only concerned about his work. I want justice for both my son Pulkit and Ankita Bhandari (the murdered woman).” He further added, “He would never indulge in such activities.”

His remarks came shortly after the Bhartiya Janta Party expelled both Vinod Arya and his other son Ankit Arya after outrage broke out over the murder of Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist who used to work in Pulkit Arya’s resort.

However, Vinod Arya said that he himself had resigned from the ruling party in Uttarakhand to pave way for a fair and impartial investigation of the death of the receptionist, maintaining that his son Pulkit Arya was innocent.

The former BJP leader said, “Pulkit is innocent, still I have resigned from the BJP to ensure a fair investigation. My son Ankit has also resigned.”

Ankita Bhandari was reported missing by her parents on Monday at the revenue police station. The case was cracked on Friday by the regular police, a day after it was transferred to the department. After initially misleading the police, the accused Pulkit (owner of the resort) and two of his employees confessed to murdering Ankita and dumping her body in the Chilla canal in Rishikesh. 

An SIT was formed to probe the case by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The body of Ankita was recovered on Saturday morning.

(With inputs from agencies)

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