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After Uttarakhand resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari's body was recovered and BJP leader's son and two others were arrested for allegedly murdering the female receptionist in Uttarakhand's Pauri district, the police have come across text messages between the victim and her friend which clearly states the incidents that led to the crime.
On Friday, Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were arrested after they confessed to have killed the receptionist and thrown her body into Cheela canal.
In the beginning of the probe, they tried to mislead the police, but after strong interrogation, they confessed to the crime, Pauri ASP Shekhar Chandra Suyal had said on Friday.
As per reports, Ankita Bhandari was talking to Deep Pushp, who befriended her on social media.
During the investigation, police found an audio clip and text messages between the two that reveal the events of how it led to the receptionist's murder, a report in Amar Ujala claimed.
According to the report, Ankita got the job at the resort through the help of Pushp, who is a resident of Jammu.
Earlier, Pushp had shared an advertisement for a job as a receptionist at the resort with Ankita, who took up the job on August 28 this year.
During the probe, Pushp informed the police that before the murder, Ankita told him that the hotel owner Pulkit Arya and the manager have been forcing her to make sexual relations with several customers.
It was also revealed that Ankita had told Pushp that Pulkit Arya had sexually harassed her while he was in an inebriated state.
Notably, Ankita wanted to leave the resort on September 18, and go back to her home.
Pushp claimed that Pulkit however took her to Rishikesh on the pretext of 'some important matter'.
He said Ankita had called him at 8:30 on September 18 to inform that Pulkit wanted to talk to her and had asked her to accompany him to Rishikesh.
Pushp further informed police that Ankita's phone went switched off at 8:30 pm and added that though he called Pulkit Arya, the resort owner told him that Ankita is sleeping in her room. However, the next day Arya's phone also was switched off.
Earlier in the day, the body of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was recovered in a canal. The discovery prompted the BJP to suspend the father and brother of the prime accused in the murder case.
The party has suspended Vinod Arya, a member of the national executive of BJP OBC Morcha, as well as his other son Ankit, a minister of state.
Ankita, a resident of Dobh in Srikot, used to work at the resort owned by Pulkit Arya in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal. She went missing on September 18.
Following the recovery of the body from the Chilla canal, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered an SIT probe led by DIG P. Renuka Devi to probe the murder.
On directions of the Chief Minister, the resort has been razed to the ground. "Strict action will be taken against the officers who were involved in the illegal construction of the resort," Dhami said, adding "It is our resolve that the those guilty of this heinous crime will not be spared."