With the anger of locals erupting in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh over the murder of a 19-year-old resort receptionist, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, 24 September, expelled Vinod Arya and Ankit Arya – the father and brother of main accused Pulkit Arya – from the party.
Ankit Arya was earlier relieved by the Uttarakhand government from the post of Deputy Chairman of the Uttarakhand Other Backward Classes Commission.
After the post-mortem was conducted, the woman's relatives left with the young woman's body, which was found on Saturday morning after searching the Chilla canal for over 24 hours.
Meanwhile, after authorities demolished parts of Vanatara resort on Saturday morning, locals set the resort on fire. The resort is owned by Vinod Arya's son Pulkit Arya.
Three accused, including Pulkit, have been arrested in connection with the murder case.
'Grave Injury Marks': Post-mortem Report
According to the post-mortem report, grave injury marks were found on the body of the deceased, an AIIMS official said. However, further information will be revealed after a detailed post-mortem report is out.
The Congress party has demanded that the post-mortem report be made public.
Meanwhile, locals also protested against BJP MLA Renu Bisht and vandalised her car as she reached All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Rishikesh hospital to meet the victim's family.
The Incident
During interrogation, the arrested accused told the police that there was a verbal argument between Pulkit Arya and the woman. Following which, Pulkit told the other two accused that “the girl is upset, let us take her to Rishikesh.”
Once the accused and the woman reached the Chilla canal, their argument flared up. Pulkit blamed the woman for revealing the talks between the two to her colleagues. She then accused him of asking her to develop relations with the visitors of the resort.
The young woman said that she will tell everyone about what is happening in the resort. She then threw the key accused’s phone in the canal. The three men, in an inebriated condition, then thrashed the woman and pushed her in the canal, the police said.
Twists and turns on how the three arrested accused tried to mislead the police have also come to the surface.
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