The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case to file a status report by November 11, reports news agency PTI. The court’s directions came during a hearing by a single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra on a plea seeking a CBI probe into the murder case. The case is currently being investigated by the SIT which is headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police P Renuka Devi.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort in Rishikesh, was killed allegedly by the owner of the resort named Pulkit Arya, who is the son of a BJP leader Vinod Arya. Her body was recovered from the Chila canal in Rishikesh on September 24, six days after she went missing.

Pulkit Arya, along with two managers of the resort, was arrested by police for allegedly pushing her into the canal following an altercation.

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In its directive to the SIT, the high court has asked it to furnish in its report details of the evidence that was collected from the resort before it was bulldozed.

The petitioner, Ashutosh Negi, a resident of Pauri Garhwal, has accused the police and the SIT of covering up the evidence in the murder case. The plea further alleged that her post-mortem report has not been made public yet, and that the post-mortem was done in the absence of a lady doctor, which is in clear violation of a Supreme Court order.

The petitioner has further alleged that Ankita Bhandari was abused, but the police were hiding the fact.

Meanwhile, Bhandari’s parents who were present in the High Court premises, said that they were not satisfied with the SIT investigation, and asked for a CBI inquiry.

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The family also questioned the recent fire that broke out in the accused’s Amla candy factory located in the resort premises and asked how it happened despite the presence of policemen and moreover the factory’s electricity connection was cut. Ankita’s father Virendra Singh claimed that all this happened as part of a conspiracy to destroy the evidence, reported PTI, adding that he will keep the fight going till his daughter gets justice.