Ankita Bhandari murder case: father of accused booked for sexual assault

Former BJP leader Vinod Arya, whose son Pulkit is the main accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, has been charged by his driver with trying to sodomise him.

The driver also accused Arya of beating him up and threatening to kill him if he disclosed the incident to anyone.

A case was registered at Haridwar's Jawalapur police station against Arya on Tuesday night on the basis of a complaint lodged by his driver, SP (city) Swatantra Kumar said.

Arya has been booked under different sections of the IPC including 377 (unnatural offences), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), Kumar said.

The driver, who hails from Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh has accused Arya of touching him inappropriately and trying to sodomise him, the SP (city) said.

He had also demanded action against Arya citing a threat to his life.

According to the complaint, Arya used to ask the driver often to press his legs. While the driver was doing so one night recently, Arya attempted to sodomise him.

He somehow managed to extricate himself and escaped to Chutmalpur where he lives. He was recently hit by a bike-borne man.

The matter is being investigated by sub-inspector Sudhanshu Kaushik, the official said.

Vinod Arya is a former BJP leader who was expelled from the party immediately after the name of his son cropped up as the main accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.

Ankita worked as a receptionist at Vanantara resort near Rishikesh owned by Pulkit who allegedly killed her along with two accomplices.

The trio are in jail.