On Monday, during the ongoing investigation into the murder case of Ankita Bhandari, the Vanantra Resort staff members revealed that the resort owned by Pulkit Arya was the hub of prostitution and drug abuse. They claimed that the resort owner would mentally harass the employees and force them into shady activities.
The Vanantra resort was owned by now arrested Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya. Pulkit Arya along with two others was arrested for brutally murdering Ankita Bhandari on September 18. According to a report by the Times of India, the staff members claimed that Pulkit Arya had a habit of mentally harassing the resort employees and that he would frame anyone in false cases of theft and assault if they defied him.
This is a day after the Whatsapp chats of Ankita with her friend were recovered by the Police. The chats revealed that the son of an ex-BJP politician had tried to coerce her into prostitution. “They are trying to turn me into a prostitute…I may be poor, but I won’t sell myself for Rs 10,000”, Ankita said in one Whatsapp message.
A staffer couple who earlier used to work at the resort stated on September 26 that they had eye-witnessed illegal activities such as prostitution and drug abuse inside the resort. The Vanantra resort was located in the Ganga-Bhogpur area of the Pauri district and was demolished after the Police arrested Pulkit Arya in the murder case.
The duo further claimed that they had escaped one such attempt of harassment by Pulkit and his arrested assistant Ankit Gupta and left the resort two months ago. “Pulkit Arya often would bring some ‘special guests’ to the resort for whom unidentified women would come. Those guests used to indulge in sexual activities with these women in their rooms”, the couple staffer said.
“They also were served with expensive liquor arranged by him along with some drugs such as cannabis, marijuana, and smack”, they added. Meanwhile, the police have obtained the postmortem report of Ankita from AIIMS hospital in Rishikesh but have denied revealing any further details. The Police said that the details would be revealed in court during the hearing
However, one of the officers maintained that the report denied the possibility of sexual assault on the deceased. “The reason for death was found to be ‘asphyxia consequent upon ante-mortem drowning”, he said. The Police also said that they found that another girl named Priyanka had assumably gone missing 8 years ago. “We found her in Meerut. We talked to her over the phone. She said she quit the job due to salary issues”, the Police said.
Earlier on September 24, one of the locals named Bittu Bhandari while talking to the police revealed that a similar incident had happened in the now-demolished Vanantra resort around 8 years ago. “7-8 years ago a female staff named Priyanka working at the same resort had gone missing and has not been found to date”, he had said.
Ankita worked as a receptionist in the Vanantra resort, owned by Pulkit Arya. She was reported missing on September 18. The police launched an investigation after the girl’s family reported a missing case and feared murder. Ankita was murdered after she turned down the demand of the resort owner for sexual favours, as per reports.
Three people were arrested by the Uttarakhand Police on September 23, in connection with the killing of Ankita Bhandari. The three people detained were identified as resort manager Ankit, Saurabh, and Pulkit Arya, the son of former state politician Vinod Arya.
A four-membered SIT has been formed to investigate the case. The team is camping in Rishikesh for attaining relevant evidence in the case. It is examining all the evidence including Ankita’s calls, Whatsapp chats, and CCTV footage. Reports mention that the SIT is also recording statements of employees and former employees of the resort who have alleged that the resort was the hub of prostitution and drug abuse.
