New Delhi, Oct 27 The CBI on Tuesday recorded the statement of journalist Ashutosh Negi who was among the prominent voices seeking an investigation by the central agency into the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case, officials said.
Negi was summoned by the CBI, which is probing the alleged role of a “VIP” in the murder of the 19-year-old resort receptionist, at its headquarters here.
The journalist was among the first to approach the Uttarakhand High Court for a CBI investigation into the murder but the petition was turned down.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended the CBI inquiry into the case on the demand of Ankita’s parents after an actress, who claimed to be the wife of a legislator, circulated audio and video clips purportedly indicating the involvement of a “VIP” in the murder.
The CBI registered a case in February against unknown persons to probe the alleged role of a “VIP” in the murder of Ankita Bhandari, whose body was found near Rishikesh in 2022, officials said.
Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri, was murdered by resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees, all of whom have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
“Materials are circulating on social media, including audio and video and others, alleging that certain unknown individuals, referred to as ‘VIP’, were involved in a crime related to the Ankita Bhandari murder case,” the CBI FIR said.
“Although the perpetrators involved in the murder have been convicted, it is being alleged on social media and other platforms that certain evidence in the case was concealed or destroyed,” the CBI FIR, seen by PTI, added.
According to established procedure, the CBI, on the request of a state government, re-registers a state police FIR as its own case, which becomes the starting point of the investigation.
(PTI News)
