Ankita Bhandari murder case: Uttarakhand court hears plea for narco, polygraph tests of accused

Kotdwar: A local court on Tuesday heard a petition seeking permission to conduct narco and polygraph tests of the accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Bhavna Pandey, after hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, fixed January 5 as the next date of hearing.

Prosecution lawyer Ajay Pant argued that both narco and polygraph tests of the accused should be conducted. Amit Sajwan, arguing for the accused, wanted it to be clarified whether the prosecution wanted to conduct a narco test or a polygraph test as the two were different.

Bhandari (19) worked as a receptionist at Vanantara resort near Rishikesh and was allegedly killed by its owner Pulkit Arya and his two accomplices after she refused to yield to their pressure to offer "extra services" to a VIP visitor in the state.

Her murder had triggered a massive public outrage. The accused are in jail and a charge sheet has also been filed against them by the SIT investigating the case.