Rishikesh (Uttarakhand): The Pauri District Magistrate Tuesday suspended former patwari Vaibhav Pratap of Yamkeshwar tehsil for 'gross negligence and inaction' in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The action followed after the DM received a report on the matter from Yamkeshwar SDM.
Earlier the DM had suspended patwari Vivek Kumar who took charge on September 20 as replacement of Vaibhav Pratap since the latter went on leave hours after he received a complaint of a 19-year-old girl gone missing.
Also read: Petition filed against Patwari system in SC after Ankita Bhandari's murder
On the other side, sensing angst among the public, key accused Pulkit Arya's family has disappeared from their house in Haridwar. The house is locked from the outside and the family has gone to some undisclosed location out of fear. However, for now, local police or SIT have not reached the house yet for any investigation.
On Monday DGP Uttrakhand Ashok Kumar indicated that Uttrakhand Police was planning to impose Gangster Act against the prime accused Pulkit Arya. "For now, we had framed sections 201 and 302 as the accused themselves filed a missing complaint to mislead the case. We will register a separate case under the Gangster Act as another case in Haridwar has surfaced," said the DGP.
