The provisional post-mortem examination report of 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Bhandari revealed that she died of asphyxia due to drowning. There were antemortem injuries found on her body, suggestive of blunt force trauma, the report added.
The detailed post-mortem report is awaited.
The provisional post-mortem was carried out at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh on Saturday. The examination was conducted by Dr Raviprakash Meshram, associate professor; Dr Ashish Ramesh Bhute, associate professor; Dr Vikas Vaibhav, senior resident; Dr Yashpal, junior resident. Her body was handed over to her family for cremation after the post-mortem examination.
Ankita’s body was recovered from Pashulok Barraj located on the Dehradun-Rishikesh highway on Saturday. The three accused, including Pulkit Arya, the son of BJP MLA Vinod Arya and owner of Vantara Resort where Ankita worked, have confessed that they had pushed Ankita into the canal on the night of September 18. The trio came back to the resort and concocted a story of her having gone missing.
Vinod Arya has been expelled from the party following Ankita’s murder. A Special Investigation Team is investigating the matter. Ankita’s WhatsApp chats that have surfaced are also being probed.
This is a developing story.