Dehradun: Kerala Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at the BJP government in Uttarakhand citing the murder of 19-year-old girl Ankita Bhandari at a resort in Rishikesh owned by expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya, who is also a prime suspect in the case. "Imagine this - a leader of the BJP owns a hotel and his son is forcing a girl to become a prostitute... and when she refused to become a prostitute, she was found dead in a lake," Rahul Gandhi said.


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"That is the way the BJP treats women in India. And what did the Chief Minister do? They destroyed the hotel so nothing can be found. This is the ideology of the BJP. Women are second-class citizens to them. And India can never succeed with this ideology," he said during a press conference.


'Drugs and prostitution at the resort'


Earlier this morning, two former employees of the Vanantara Resort, made explosive revelations that the place was notorious for “prostitution and drugs abuse.”’ According to news agency ANI, the unidentified former staff also revealed that Pulkit Arya, who is the son of BJP leader Vinod Arya, used to “misbehave with women.”


"I joined Vanantara resort in Rishikesh this May but left my job there in July. Ankit Gupta (accused) and Pulkit Arya (the main accused) misbehaved and verbally abused girls. They used to bring girls and many VIPs also used to come there," the former employee disclosed.


Another former staffer of the resort told the police that "Pulkit Arya used to bring girls here from outside to 'please' the guests.'' She and her husband used to work at the resort but later fled the place to save their lives after being tortured like Ankita. She further claimed that Pulkit Arya used to keep the staff trapped in his clutches, due to which it was very difficult to get out. 


They also claimed that Pulkit Arya had good relations with a local Patwari who used to visit the resort very often. They also informed that Pulkit`s wife was fully aware of his wrongdoings and she constantly opposed them. 


The body of Ankita Bhandari (19), who worked at the Vanantara resort in Uttarakhand's Pauri district, was found in the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh on Saturday, six days after her parents reported her missing. She was allegedly killed by Pulkit Arya, resort owner and former BJP leader and state minister Vinod Arya's son, and two other employees when she resisted their attempts to offer "special services" to customers.


Congress questions PM Modi's silence


Meanwhile, Congress also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all BJP leaders on the murder of the 19-year-old receptionist at the resort in Uttarakhand. Addressing a press conference, state Congress president Karan Mahara questioned the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the case and said the party does not have faith in the police investigation.


"It is very shameful. Today, the prime minister, women leaders of the BJP and the entire BJP organisation have been exposed. While the Congress and other parties are protesting against the incident across the state, the BJP, its allies and women leaders are nowhere to be found," he said.


On the SIT set up by the state government to probe the case, the Congress leader said police officials are shaking hands with the father of the main accused in the case and talking to him. It can be understood from this how much pressure must be there on the SIT. He said the delay on the part of the police in registering a missing complaint and in seeking remand of the accused even after arresting them raises doubts. Mahara alleged that the resort owned by Pulkit Arya was bulldozed to destroy evidence. Which VIP is the government trying to save, he asked.


Ankita Bhandari's post-mortem report


The post-mortem report of Ankita Bhandari, who was allegedly killed by Pulkit Arya, suggested that she died because of suffocation and drowning in water. The post-mortem of Ankita`s body was done by a panel of four doctors of AIIMS Rishikesh. The detailed post-mortem report was received by the SIT on Monday evening.


Last rites amid protests in Rishikesh


The last rites of Ankita Bhandari were performed at the NIT ghat in Srinagar at Pauri Garwhal on September 25. Protestors blocked for over seven hours the Badrinath-Rishikesh highway outside the mortuary where Ankita Bhandari`s father arrived to take her body for last rites. Previously angry locals even set on fire the resort where Ankita worked.