PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The leader of opposition in Vidhan Sabha, Yashpal Arya has said that in the wake of the new claims, the State government should rise above the political lines and recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.
He said that the people of Uttarakhand are shocked by new disclosures made by the people associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the case. Arya said that it is clear that since the people linked with the case had direct connection with the BJP and powerful people, the government refrained from ordering a CBI probe despite strong demand of the people of the State, the victim’s parents and Congress party.
“The new disclosures have made it clear that the Ankita Bhandari murder was an example of cruelty protected by political power where a daughter of Uttarakhand refused to bow down before the powerful. She paid the price of the refusal with her life,” Arya said. He further said that women are unsafe under the BJP government. He said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case kept the ‘VIP’ whom Bhandari reportedly refused to entertain, outside the purview of the investigation.
He said that it is unfortunate that the BJP is trying to protect the ‘VIP’ in the case. Arya emphatically said that all those involved in the murder should have received the death sentence. Listing a series of cases of rape and murder, the LoP said that BJP leaders were found involved in most of the cases.
