In September 2022, 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort near Rishikesh. She often spoke to her friend Pushp about events at the resort. One day, Ankita also told Pushp that a “VIP guest” had requested “extra services,” and she replied, “I may be poor, but I won’t sell myself for Rs. 10,000.” In her last known audio to a resort employee, she said, “Please get me my bag till the shop.”
One night, when Ankita didn’t pick up Pushp's repeated calls, he called resort owner Pulkit Arya, who said, “She went to her room.” But the next morning, she was nowhere to be found. Her father then went to multiple police stations but was directed to the Revenue Police. Officer Vaibhav Pratap did not register the complaint and then went on leave. His replacement filed it on 20 September. After public pressure, the case was transferred to regular police on 22 September.
Within a day, resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and staffer Ankit Gupta were arrested. A staffer recalled being told, “Keep the dinner ready for all four of us,” the night Ankita went missing.
When the case made headlines, a few former employees of the resort came forward, exposing the resort’s secrets. One of them said, “They used to misbehave… all three of them are guilty.”
According to police findings and the FIR, Ankita confronted the three on 18 September and was later taken out on a scooter to “talk things out”. The FIR stated she was pushed into the Cheela canal.
Her body was found on 24 September. Protests took place across Uttarakhand. Parts of the resort were demolished. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “For all the illegal constructions… we’ve ordered the district magistrate to act.” Although Ankita’s family thought it was all a “cover up”.
During the trial, Ankita’s lawyer said, “We had presented 47 witnesses.”
Referring to the case being “fast-tracked,” her father said, “That didn’t actually happen.”
Her mother said, “These culprits should get the death penalty.”
On 29 May 2025, the court convicted all three accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
