Haridwar, Jan 9 (PTI) Expelled BJP leader Suresh Rathore appeared before the SIT probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case and he was questioned for over six hours, police said.
Rathore, a former BJP MLA from Jwalapur constituency in Haridwar, appeared before the SIT after the Uttarakhand High Court granted him protection from arrest.
Later, Rathore told mediapersons that he had shared all facts and handed over his phone recordings. He added that he would continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.
The ex-MLA said the SIT asked him hundreds of questions, which he answered. Rathore said allegations are being levelled against him to tarnish his image, all of which are “baseless”.
He was called for questioning following audio-video clips released by Urmila Sanawar, an actress who claims to be Rathore’s second wife.
Sanawar caused political storm with the fresh allegations, claiming the video shows Rathore referring to the “VIP” involved in Ankita Bhandari’s murder. In another video, she claimed that the ‘VIP’ is BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam.
Sanawar appeared before the SIT on Thursday, where she said she was questioned for 4-5 hours.
Several FIRs have been registered against Rathore and Sanawar in Dehradun and Haridwar in the case.
This comes on the day Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI inquiry into the 2022 murder of 19-year-old resort receptionist Ankita Bhandari.
Calls for CBI probe gathered momentum due to protests by Congress and other parties over the new allegations made by Sanawar.
In 2022, Ankita Bhandari, 19, a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Pauri, was murdered by resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees. All three were sentenced to life imprisonment in this case. PTI DPT SKY SKY
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