Ankita Bhandari murder case: Resort operator among 3 sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment

Lucknow: Thirty two months after she was murdered and her body was dumped in a canal, a district court in Uttarakhand's Kotdwar on Friday sentenced the three accused persons in the Ankita Bhandari murder case to life imprisonment.

The additional district and sessions court found the three accused persons Pulkit Arya, Sourav Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta guilty under different sections of the IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50, 000 each on the accused and ordered to pay Rs four lakh to the family of Anikta.

Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at a resort in Kotdwar in Uttarakhand, went missing on September 18, 2022. Her body was later recovered from Cheela canal.

The owner of the resort Pulkit, his employee Sourav Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were arrested and charged with her murder. The case had triggered a massive outrage.

Elaborate security arrangements were made outside the Kotdwar district court ahead of the verdict. A large crowd had gathered outside the court when the judgement was delivered.

The prosecution has submitted a 500 word charge-sheet in the case and 47 witnesses were produced by it.

Ankita’s parents, however, expressed their displeasure over the verdict saying that they expected the accused persons to get the death senetence. ‘’Those who gave death to our daughter should also get the death penalty,’’ they said.