New Delhi: The last rites of Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist who was murdered in Rishikesh, were performed at NIT ghat in Srinagar, Pauri Garwhal in Uttarakhand. The victim’s family had refused to cremate her body until they get the final postmortem report. Three people, including a now expelled BJP leader’s son, have been arrested in connection with the death.

Pulkit Arya, the son of a now expelled BJP leader is among the three people arrested in relation to the case.

Ankita's father and brother had initially refused to perform her last rites until they get the final postmortem report. The teenager’s body was found in the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar has given an assurance to the teen’s father that the police will produce enough evidence in court to ensure that his daughter’s killers are hanged.

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“I have spoken to the victim’s father on the phone and assured him of an impartial probe into her killing and the strictest punishment to the guilty. They will not be spared at any cost,” the DGP said in a social media post.

Earlier in the day, massive protests broke out at the mortuary where Bhandari’s body was kept.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has promised a fast-track trial in the case.

“SIT is probing the case from every angle, and evidence related to the case has been safeguarded. I assure you that there’s no attempt to erase the evidence. We’ll try to expedite the case in a fast-track court. We won’t spare culprits,” he said.

Nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer Pulkit Arya, and her body was recovered from the Cheela canal close to Rishikesh early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

Bhandari was working as a receptionist at a resort owned by Arya in Rishikesh. Arya was allegedly trying to force her to do sex work for the resort guests.