Ankita Bhandari case: JCB driver tells court he was called twice for demolition at resort on same day

Kotdwar: A court hearing the Ankita Bhandari murder case was told by a JCB driver that he was called twice on September 23, 2022, to raze parts of the Vanantra Resort which was operated by the main accused, lawyers said here.

The first time the demolition was carried out under the then sub-divisional magistrate and later on the direction of current Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht, he claimed.

The statement by the witness, Deepak, is significant as there were allegations from various quarters about the destruction of evidence by the overnight razing of parts of the resort at Bhogpur in Pauri district.

While recording his statement before Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi here on Friday, Deepak said he used to drive the JCB of Satyendra Singh Rawat and on his direction, he had gone to Vanantra Resort on September 23, 2022.

He claimed that on the instructions of the SDM and in the presence of other officials, he razed the gate and the boundary wall of the resort, and then left for Haridwar.

Deepak claimed that when he reached Shivmurti in Haridwar, the personal assistant of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht called him and asked him to reach the resort with the JCB.

The driver told the the court that when he reached the resort again in the JCB, MLA Bisht was present there and on the lawmaker's instructions he broke the walls and windows of two rooms. He claimed that the MLA had made him stay in an adjacent room in the resort that night.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort, was killed allegedly by the resort operator Pulkit Arya, who is the son of Vinod Arya, and two employees. Her body was recovered from the Chila canal in Rishikesh.

The BJP had expelled Vinod Arya from the party after the incident sparked protests.

Apart from Deepak, the prosecution also presented two policemen, Ravindra Singh and Rajveer Singh, posted at Laxman Jhula police station on the day of the incident, as witnesses.

Advocates of Ankita's family, Ajay Pant and Narendra Gosai, said that till now 33 people have given their testimonies in the case.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has produced 97 witnesses.

The next hearing of the case will be on January 5.

All three accused are lodged in Pauri jail.