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Ankita Bhandari murder: BJP summons Uttarakhand CM Dhami to Delhi

September 27, 2022 04:16 PM

New Delhi: The central BJP leadership has summoned Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to Delhi, leading to speculations about possible changes in the state cabinet.

 

His second visit within ten days comes amid shocking revelations involving the son of a top BJP leader in the murder of a 19-year-old girl Ankita Bhandari.

 

Sources say not just BJP, the party's ideological fountainhead RSS is also unhappy with the handling of the serious and sensitive case and piling issues of corruption against Dhami-led government.

 

The developments have led to spate of protests and agitations in the state.

 

Sources said central party leaders are worried over protests and agitation against Dhami. It is also being said that the state has not seen such protests since the agitation seeking separation from Uttar Pradesh.

 

Dhami is also under fire over charges of corruption and irregularities in government recruitments. Demanding action against him, his detractors have also registered complaints against him with the central leadership.

 

"Allegations of corruption have been levelled against the state government in recruitment and allocation of contracts," sources said, adding that "deep discontent is brewing over allegations of favouritism in recruitment and his working style."

 

Former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is also believed to have met senior leaders over the prevailing issues in the state.

 

Being a border state, Uttarakhand is an important state in BJP's political strategy. The central leadership is contemplating leadership issues, including creating a post of Deputy CM, they said, adding that Ankita's murder may have fastened the changes.

 

Ankita's body was recovered from a canal on Saturday after she went missing from a resort owned by Pulkit Arya. 

 

Arya and two others, who were later arrested, are said to have confessed to the murder. In her WhatsApp chats, Ankita revealed to a friend that she was being forced into doing 'wrongful acts'. 

 

Not just this, the CM is also facing flak for demolition of the resort and "destroying important evidence in the case". Questions are being raised why the resort was demolished in such a hurry, though police officials claim no evidence was lost.

 

Accused Pulkit Arya is the son of BJP leader and former Uttarakhand Minister Vinod Arya. Vinod Arya and his other son Ankit Arya were expelled from the party on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, a chargesheet has been filed against 18 accused in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) graduate level recruitment exam leak case. 

 

The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a total of 41 accused in the case, out of which the judicial remand of 21 accused has also been approved under the Gangster Act.  

 

 

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