Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 30 Jun: The Nainital High Court today heard the appeals filed in the Ankita Bhandari murder case and dismissed the bail petitions of convicts Pulkit Arya and Saurabh Bhaskar. Both the convicts had challenged the life imprisonment awarded to them by the Kotdwar court and sought release on bail. The division bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Siddharth refused to grant any relief and fixed 20 July as the next date of hearing.
During arguments, the defence counsels claimed that Ankita Bhandari had committed suicide and the accused had no role in her death, hence they should be released on bail. The prosecution and the victim’s side countered that after the incident the hotel room was demolished, evidence was destroyed by fire, and WhatsApp chats clearly implicated the accused. They argued that, if the accused were not involved, why were all traces of evidence erased? Therefore the bail petitions should be rejected.
It may be reminded here that the Kotdwar court had on 30 May 2025 convicted Pulkit Arya and Saurabh Bhaskar under sections 302, 354A and 201 of the IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The trial involved 47 witnesses. The defence maintained that no eyewitness was produced and Ankita’s body was recovered from the canal, while the prosecution highlighted that the location of the accused and their associates was found at the crime scene, corroborated by forensic examination. Ankita’s WhatsApp chats also mentioned the threats, and the accused had tampered with the resort’s CCTV cameras and DVR.
It may be recalled that Ankita Bhandari, a resident of Dob Shrikot in Pauri district, worked at Vanantra Resort owned by Pulkit Arya. On the night of the incident, Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and their associate Ankit had allegedly pushed her into the Chilla barrage, leading to her death. Following investigation, all the three were arrested and have remained in jail since. The lower court found them guilty and awarded life imprisonment, which they have now challenged before the High Court. The matter will be taken up again on 20 July.
