Haridwar:
The son of senior BJP leader Vinod Arya, Pulkit Arya, has been arrested for the murder of a 19-year-old woman who worked at a resort he owned in Rishikesh, Haridwar district of Uttarakhand. Two employees were also arrested. The body has yet to be found – a search is underway at Cheela Canal, a nearby water channel – and police are investigating a motive.
The woman has been missing for a week now.
Police acted quickly after news spread on social media with her family named Pulkit Arya, whose father Vinod Arya is currently serving as a minister of state without holding a government position. Prior to that, he served as a minister and remains the chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Kala Council, a government organization for kumhar (potters) community.
In addition to Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta have been arrested, Shekhar Police Additional Chief Pauri Chandra Suyal told PTI. “Initially, they tried to fool the police, but when they were rigorously questioned, they confessed to the crime,” the officer said.
A ‘missing person’ complaint was filed at the Revenue Police outpost, run by local officials, after the girl was not found in her room by her parents on Monday morning. “The case was broken within 24 hours of being turned over to the regular police,” he added.
State Police Chief Ashok Kumar said, “This area is not under the control of regular police stations. In Uttarakhand we have a system. patwari (land collection officer) registered for FIR. FIR was registered by order of resort owner (Pulkit Arya) and family. The case was then turned over to us. Within 24 hours we had the issue resolved – the resort owner turned out to be alleged. Further investigation is ongoing. “
