'Ankita Bhandari was told to give special services to resort guests'; BJP expels father of accused: Key points

NEW DELHI: A day after three people, including the son of BJP ex-minister Vinod Arya, were arrested for allegedly murdering 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, the police on Saturday recovered her body from Chilla Barrage in Uttarakhand.

The postmortem of the girl, who used to work as a receptionist at a resort in Yamkeshwar, is being conducted at AIIMS-Rishikesh by a panel of doctors.

Ankita Bhandari Murder Case Live Updates

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that a Special Investigative Team (SIT) under DIG P Renuka Devi has been formed to probe the whole incident.

Meanwhile, the BJP has expelled Vinod Arya and Ankit Arya - the father and brother of main accused Pulkit Arya, owner of the resort - from the party with immediate effect.

Here are the top developments through the day:
PM should apologise, sack Smriti Irani: Congress
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate targeted Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani over her social media post in which the BJP leader shared a picture of herself in a kitchen.

"When the country was mourning the woman receptionist's death, the minister was asking on social media 'what's cooking in her kitchen'.

"I don't know what is cooking in your kitchen but there is fear in the minds of women and girls, she should break her silence and act against the perpetrators," Shrinate said, adding: "We must understand this is the intoxication of power and these things will continue to happen till BJP leaders feel they have political protection."

"PM Narendra Modi must apologise and sack Smriti Irani from the women and child development ministry," Shrinate added.

End revenue police system: Speaker
Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan wrote to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami requesting him to end the system of revenue police with immediate effect and to set up police stations/outposts of the general police force instead of revenue police

The government suspended the local patwari and revenue police inspector, who allegedly didn't register a case on the girl's disappearance for three days.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahra said the young woman had gone missing on September 18 and the FIR was lodged four days later. "It shows the state government is not serious in its actions. Women are not safe in Uttarakhand," Mahra said.

"The action being taken by the state government is just an eyewash. The resort has been demolished only partially. It may also be an attempt to destroy evidence," added Congress leader Garima Dhasauni.

Countering the allegations of delay in action against the culprits, DGP Kumar said the matter was transferred to regular police from revenue police on Thursday and the accused were sent behind bars within 24 hours.

MLA's vehicle attacked
Angry locals on Saturday damaged the vehicle of Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht in Rishikesh allegedly over her late response to the murder of 19-year-old Ankita.

People smashed the rear windscreen of the legislator's car when she was passing by Chilla canal, from where the body of the girl was fished out earlier in the day.

Bisht escaped the attack unhurt and was escorted to safety by police personnel.

The people alleged that despite being a woman, the MLA not only failed to fight for justice for "the daughter of Yamkeshwar" but also reacted to the incident days after her murder.

Girl's body recovered
The body of Ankita Bhandari, who was reported missing a few days ago, was recovered on Saturday from the Chilla canal in Rishikesh. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said: "The body of daughter Ankita was recovered this morning. My heart is deeply pained by this heartbreaking incident."

"The search operation was going on from 7 am, we took out the body of a woman, her relatives came here and identified it to be the body of Ankita Bhandari. The body has been taken to AIIMS in Rishikesh," said a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) official.

Additional Superintendent of Police Shekhar Suyal added that the deceased's brother and father identified the body as Ankita Bhandari.

SIT formed
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case.

"In order to ensure the harshest punishment for the culprits, an SIT has been formed under the leadership of Deputy Inspector General of Police P. Renuka Devi and ordered an in-depth investigation of this serious matter," Dhami said., adding: "Strictest action will be taken against all the culprits regarding this ... we will bring the culprits to justice. The perpetrators will not be spared."

Building inside resort set on fireOn Friday, Uttarakhand authorities bulldozed the Vanatra Resort owned by Pulkit, where Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist.

Angry locals on Saturday set fire to a building located on resort premises.

CM Dhami said that district magistrates have been ordered to take action against all resorts inside Uttarakhand which have illegal constructions.
Victim was told to offer 'special services'The Uttarakhand police chief Ashok Kumar on Saturday said that Ankita was being pressured by Pulkit Arya, the resort owner, to provide "special services" to guests.

According to reports, the victim had told her friend that the owner and the managers of the resort where she worked were mounting pressure on her to have sex with guests visiting the resort. Ankita had repeatedly refused to indulge in prostitution with resort guests.

BJP leader expelled; officials suspended
The BJP on Saturday expelled Vinod Arya and his son Ankit Arya from the party, a day after the leader's other son Pulkit Arya was arrested in the murder case of Ankita.

Ankit Arya was also removed as vice president of the state OBC commission by the state government.

Vinod Arya's son Pulkit -- who owns the resort in Pauri's Yamkeshwar block -- was arrested on Friday along with two employees of the facility for allegedly killing the receptionist, who had been missing for the past few days.

Vinod Arya, a party leader from Haridwar, has formerly served as a chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Board with a state minister's rank.

The government also suspended the local patwari and revenue police inspector, who allegedly didn't register a case on the girl's disappearance for three days.

Congress slams BJP
The Congress on Saturday attacked the BJP over the murder of Ankita Bhandari, and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the nation.

The opposition party termed as "selective action" the BJP expelling Vinod Arya and his son from the party and said it should remove all its lawmakers who are facing charges of crimes against women.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed that whenever an incident of sexual exploitation or rape of a woman comes to the fore, a BJP leader's name crops up. "After anger increased, some action has been taken but I believe that this is selective action. If action is to be taken, remove all your MLAs and MPs involved in crimes against women," she said and listed the names of BJP leaders.

"Narendra Modi must apologise ... We must understand this is the intoxication of power and these things will continue to happen till BJP leaders feel they have political protection," Shrinate said.

Pulkit Arya confesses
Pulkit Arya, who was arrested on Friday, has confessed to having pushed Ankita into the canal after an altercation.

The resort owner told police that he had killed Ankita by pushing her into the barrage from a cliff on September 18, the night she had gone missing. The search operation was resumed in the wee hours of Saturday following this input.

Lalita Negi, an SDRF official, said: "Based on Arya's confession, SDRF's deep diving team had started the search operation on Friday noon soon after the arrest, but had failed to find the body. On Saturday, it again resumed the search and finally managed to find it from the barrage around 7am."
(With inputs from agencies)