Ankita Bhandari murder case: Vinod Arya, father of accused Pulkit, who used ayurveda business to fuel his rise in Uttarakhand BJP
The Uttarakhand BJP expelled Vinod Arya, who enjoyed a minister's rank in the previous party-led govt, and his elder son Ankit following Pulkit's arrest
Ankita had joined Pulkit’s resort in Uttarakhand’s Laxman Jhula area as a receptionist late last month. Days after she went missing, the police recovered Ankita’s body from a canal on September 24, a day after they arrested Pulkit and two others charging that he had confessed to pushing her into the canal after an altercation.
Vinod Arya, who enjoyed the rank of a minister of state in the previous Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government, was never considered to be a mass leader or had any notable support base, but used his influence to gain proximity to senior BJP leaders.
Many in the state BJP believe that Vinod, who hails from Haridwar, was inducted into the party fold mainly for his business interests in swadeshi ayurveda. Later, the BJP dispensation appointed Vinod as the chairman of the Uttarakhand Mati Board with a state minister’s rank.
“He (Vinod) was never a mass leader or brought votes to the party. Vinod Arya is well known in the area for running the Swadeshi Ayurveda firm and that is why many in the party believed that it would be good to have someone with the swadeshi tag. Once in the party, he started staking claims for different posts. In meetings, he used to say that he is a senior leader and should be given suitable recognition. With that, he was given the rank of a minister of state,” said a state BJP leader.
Vinod later used his political influence to further expand his ayurveda business. The Pulkit-owned Vanantra Resort in Laxman Jhula area is cited as an example in this regard. Vinod’s elder son Ankit also joined the BJP and was later made the state OBC Commission vice president.
Rating: 5