Uttarakhand murder: Body found in canal, resort set on fire, leader expelled

Dehradun, Sep 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday expelled a leader from the party's primary membership after his son was held in a teen's murder case in Uttarakhand. They have been suspended from the party with immediate effect.

Earlier in the day, locals set Vanatara resort, owned by Pulkit Arya, on fire. Three accused, including Pulkit, have been arrested for killing a 19-year-old girl who had been missing for the last few days, police said. The girl worked as a receptionist at the resort.

Here are the latest development in the case

• Police early Saturday recovered the body of a female receptionist, allegedly killed by a BJP leader's son, from Cheela canal where the accused had dumped her. The development in the case was shared by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a tweet, who said he was pained by the incident.
• Pulkit Arya, the key accused in the case and the owner of the resort where the victim worked, is a son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader from Haridwar. The politician was formerly a chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Kala Board.
• After the murder snowballed into a major controversy, the locals demanded 'bulldozer justice' from Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Dhami also announced that an SIT under Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi has been formed to investigate the case.
• An SIT led by DIG police P Renuka Devi has been set up to conduct a speedy probe into the killing of the 19-year-old woman.
• The resort, built illegally in the Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district by the BJP leader's son, was demolished late Friday night, Dhami said. Those who have committed the heinous crime will not be spared, he said.
• Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were arrested on Friday after they confessed to have killed the girl and thrown her body into Cheela canal.
• Initially, they tried to mislead the police, but when interrogated sternly they confessed to the crime, Pauri ASP Shekhar Chandra Suyal had said on Friday.
• Before she was found dead, the girl was reported missing at a revenue police outpost by her parents, after they did not find her in her room on Monday morning.