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Amit Bathla

Articles by Amit Bathla

Uttarakhand botched raid: ‘Hope I get justice’, says BJP leader; blames UP cops for wife’s death

The UP Police, however, maintain that Bhullar’s wife Gurjeet Kaur was killed in cross-firing between their team and Mohammed Jafar, a man accused of illegal sand mining who they were chasing. On Friday, the Uttarakhand police dismissed the crossfire claim, saying that their forensic team did not find evidence of cross-firing as suggested by UP Police.

BJP leader Gurtaj Singh Bhullar‘s wife Gurpreet (32) was shot dead during a raid by an Uttar Pradesh police team in Uttarakhand. (ANI)

india news

Updated on Oct 15, 2022 11:36 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

Uttarakhand cops deny Uttar Pradesh’s claim of crossfire after botched raid

The incident took place late on Wednesday when a team of Moradabad Police raided Uttarakhand BJP leader Gurtaj Bhullar’s farm house in Bharatpur village of US Nagar district, after receiving a tip off that a wanted criminal, Mohammed Jafar, was hiding there. Bhullar’s wife Gurjeet Kaur was shot dead in the incident.

Uttarakhand police on Friday denied Uttar Pradesh police’s claim of an exchange of fire at the site. (ANI)

india news

Published on Oct 14, 2022 11:28 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

‘Not killed in cross-firing’: Uttarakhand police rebuts UP cops on woman’s death

Gurjeet Kaur, 28, died late on Wednesday a little after a team of UP police barged into the farmhouse in the district’s Bharatpur village on a lead that Mohammed Jafar, who has a ₹50,000 on his arrest and was wanted in cases relating to illegal sand mining, was hiding there

Police force assembled at Kunda police station on Thursday after the confrontation between UP police and US Nagar villagers on Wednesday evening. (File Photo)

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Published on Oct 14, 2022 08:41 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

2 of 8 men arrested by UP on terror charges has Haridwar link: Cop

Bangladesh national Ali Noor and Abdul Talha, who were among those arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS, stayed in Haridwar using fake identities, police said

Abdul Talha, who is alleged to be associated with AQIS and JMB of Bangladesh, and stayed in Haridwar for some time, is also wanted by Bhopal Police. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Updated on Oct 11, 2022 09:12 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarkashi avalanche toll rises to 16, 13 still missing

The group of 34 trainees and seven instructors was hit by the avalanche at around 8.45am on October 4 near the Dokrani Bamak glacier while returning from a high-altitude navigation exercise at the Mount Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak (5,670 metres).

Army personnel move towards the avalanche site to carry out rescue operations in Uttarkashi district on Thursday. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Oct 07, 2022 04:25 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

‘It happened in seconds’: Survivors recount Uttarakhand avalanche horror

A 41-member group from NIM, including 34 trainees and seven instructors, were hit by an avalanche around 8.45 am on Tuesday while returning from high-altitude navigation from the Mount Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak (5,670 metres).

NDRF personnel shift the body of a victim during a search and rescue operation after a bus carrying members of a marriage party fell into a gorge, in Pauri Garhwal district, Wednesday. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Oct 06, 2022 12:35 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarkashi avalanche: Record-setting climber Kanswal among victims

Savita Kanswal, 26, this year became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu over the course of just 16 days to set a national record.

india news

Updated on Oct 06, 2022 12:47 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Lucky that we could breathe, says trainee mountaineer rescued after avalanche

Two instructors including 26-year-old Savita Kanswal, who became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu in just 16 days, are among those who were killed in the avalanche

The first group of mountaineering trainees evacuated after an avalanche hit Draupadi's Danda-2 mountain at Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Matli hospital, in Uttarkashi on Wednesday. (A)

india news

Published on Oct 05, 2022 09:25 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarkashi tragedy: 1st Indian woman to climb Everest, Makalu among those killed

An instructor at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Savita Kanswal climbed Mount Everest (8848 m) on May 12

india news

Updated on Oct 05, 2022 01:13 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

4 bodies found; many trapped in Uttarakhand avalanche

The avalanche occurred at around 8.45am near the Dokrani Bamak glacier, while the group of advanced trainees and instructors was returning after high-altitude navigation from the Mount Draupadi ka Danda 2 peak.

SDRF team members leave from Sahastradhara helipad to rescue the trainees trapped in an avalanche in Draupadi's Danda-2 mountain peak in Dehradun on Tuesday. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Oct 05, 2022 01:19 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarakhand murder: Revenue official questioned, crime scene recreated

Ankita Bhandari, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Ganga Bhogpur Talla area, was found dead on September 24, six days after she was reported missing.

Pauri Garhwal: Smoke billows from a factory owned by Pulkit Arya after locals set it on fire, in Pauri Garhwal district, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. Police arrested Arya along with two employees of a resort owned by him in connection with its probe into the murder of a female resort receptionist, on Friday. (PTI Photo)(PTI09_24_2022_000111B) (PTI)

india news

Updated on Oct 02, 2022 02:25 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarakhand cops recreate receptionist murder crime scene, quiz revenue official

The accused were taken one by one to the Vanantara resort and the Chill canal, from where the girl’s body was recovered on September 24

The Vanantara resort receptionist was allegedly killed by the resort’s owner and two other staff after she resisted their attempts to force her into prostitution. (PTI FIle Photo)

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Updated on Oct 01, 2022 05:51 PM IST

ByAmit BathlaAmit Bathla

‘Ankita’s father to blame’: RSS member’s Facebook post provokes outrage; FIR filed

Sanjay, RSS prachar pramukh in Uttarakhand, said the RSS condemned Vipin Kandwal’s now-deleted remark on Facebook. He added that Vipin Karnwal had also apologised for his post

In one of the many protests organised to seek justice for Ankita Bhandari, people blocked the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal district on Sunday, Sept. 25. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Sep 28, 2022 08:19 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Ankita Bhandari murder: Allegations of ‘illegal activities’ at Uttarakhand resort under SIT scanner

Former employees of the Vanantara Resort in Pauri district of Uttarakhand, where 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist when she was murdered, have stated that several illegal activities were regularly carried out on the premises, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

The resort was partially demolished by authorities in Pauri Garhwal district. (PTI)

india news

Published on Sep 28, 2022 12:40 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

Police find animal cage at Uttarakhand resort, ask forest dept to assess its use

Vanantara resort, located in Ganga Bhogpur Talla in the Yamkeshwar area of Pauri Garwal district, comes under the jurisdiction of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

The animal cage recovered from the terrace of the Vanantara resort owned by now-expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit Arya, the prime accused in the receptionist murder case.

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Published on Sep 27, 2022 05:57 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarakhand teen cremated without family’s consent, says mother

Ankita Bhandari’s body was recovered from Cheela canal near Rishikesh early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

Mother of 19-year-old woman who was murdered in Uttarakhand claimed her daughter’s last rites were conducted “hurriedly”. (PTI)

india news

Updated on Sep 27, 2022 04:56 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

Uttarakhand murder: Teen cremated as CM assures kin of action

Ankita Bhandari (19) was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer and her body was recovered from nearby Cheela canal early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

Mortal remains of Ankita Bhandari being taken for cremation, at Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal district on Sunday. (PTI)

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Updated on Sep 26, 2022 05:26 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla

‘Resort bulldozed to destroy evidence?’: U’khand teen’s family refuses cremation

The Uttarakhand woman’s family has questioned the government action of bulldozing parts of the resort owned by prime accused Pulkit Arya, the son of now expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya.

The Uttarakhand woman’s family said bulldozing the resort hurriedly overnight may have destroyed the evidence at the crime scene. (PTI)

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Updated on Sep 25, 2022 02:33 PM IST

ByAmit BathlaAmit Bathla

Former Uttarakhand minister’s son among three held for 19-yr-old’s murder: Cops

Pulkit Arya (35), son of former state minister and BJP leader Vinod Arya, was arrested along with Saurabh Bhaskar (35) and Ankit Gupta (19) and all of them have confessed to the crime, police said.

The woman, who was working as a receptionist at a resort owned by Pulkit on Chilla road in Yamkeshwar area, went missing on Sunday.(Representative image)

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Updated on Sep 24, 2022 02:22 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Hindustan Times, Dehradun

200+ appointments in Uttarakhand assembly scrapped; probe confirmed violations

150 of the 228 appointments that were cancelled by Uttarakhand Ritu Khanduri Bhushan on Friday were made when the Congress, which had demanded the inquiry, was in power and its leader Govind Singh Kunjwal was speaker

Uttarakhand speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan announced the decision to scrap 228 ad hoc appointment after the DK Kotia panel submitted its report (Twitter/RituKhanduriBJP)

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Published on Sep 23, 2022 02:31 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarakhand recorded 195% increase in cybercrimes in 2021: NCRB

Uttarakhand has the fourth highest rate of cyber fraud cases in the country after Telangana, Assam and Karnataka, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

The motives of cybercrime cases have been identified as fraud, extortion, anger, personal revenge and sexual exploitation. (Representative Image)

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Updated on Aug 31, 2022 07:03 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarakhand: 23-yr-old dies by suicide after failing in Agniveer recruitment

The 23-year-old man from Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, who failed in the army recruitment in the two previous attempts due to medical reasons, failed in his last attempt in the Agniveer recruitment rally on Wednesday

The victim’s family members said that he had eaten his meal properly after returning from the Agniveer recruitment rally. (Representative Image)

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Updated on Aug 27, 2022 12:30 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Woman accuses ex-UKPSC member of pressuring for ‘sexual favours’; Probe ordered

The accused former Uttarakhand public service commission (UKPSC) member refuted the allegations and claimed that the woman is trying to gain cheap publicity by levelling ‘false’ allegations

The woman accused a former member of UKPSC of pressuring her for ‘sexual favours’ for her selection in the Uttarakhand Special Subordinate Education Service exam conducted in 2018. (Representative Image)

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Updated on Aug 21, 2022 05:25 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

BJP leader held in Uttarakhand paper leak case

Senior superintendent of police (STF), Ajay Singh, said in a press conference that BJP leader Rawat was one of the masterminds behind the paper leak operation and was on the run. He was arrested on Friday while flee to Himachal Pradesh from Arakot in Uttarkashi.

A special task force of the Uttarakhand police has arrested BJP leader and Uttarkashi zila panchayat member Hakam Singh Rawat in connection with the question paper leak of the subordinate service selection commission (UKSSSC) examination in 2021. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

india news

Updated on Aug 15, 2022 03:34 AM IST

ByAmit Bathla, Dehradun

Uttarakhand paper leak: Local BJP leader arrested

Police said Rawat is one of the “masterminds” of the leak, who was on the run and trying to enter Himachal Pradesh when he was held in Uttarkashi

Police said Rawat was on their radar since the beginning of the probe. (HT PHOTO)

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Updated on Aug 14, 2022 06:22 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Uttarkashi teacher close to Uttarakhand paper leak mastermind caught: Cop

Uttarakhand special task force SP Ajay Singh said the mastermind of the UKSSSC paper leak was part of an inter-state gang, and will be arrested very soon

UKSSC chairman S Raju resigned from the post last week on moral grounds after the police started catching the suspects in the case (Photo:UKSSSC)

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Published on Aug 13, 2022 05:37 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Corbett illegal tree felling case: FIR against Uttarakhand IFS officer, others

The vigilance secured the government’s permission for the registration of the FIR against the accused on Saturday

Vigilance officials added the FIR just mentioned the name of IFS officer as accused. (File image)

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Published on Aug 08, 2022 04:59 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Disproportionate assets: Vigilance to submit charge sheet against IAS officer

The vigilance department on June 23 arrested Ram Vilas Yadav, who was then serving as an additional secretary in the Uttarakhand government, a day after the government suspended him

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Published on Aug 03, 2022 05:35 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Rishikesh gang-grape: Women’s commission asks DMs to check de-addiction centres

A woman from Roorkee was allegedly gang-raped at a drug de-addiction centre in Rishikesh around one and a half month ago

The Uttarakhand women’s commission asked the district magistrates of Haridwar and Dehradun to ensure strict action against culprits in the Rishikesh gang-rape case. (Representative Image)

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Published on Aug 01, 2022 05:37 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

Fake call centre: Uttarakhand STF to write to ED to probe money laundering angle

The special task force (STF) of the Uttarakhand police along with cyber police busted an illegally operating ‘international call centre’ and recovered a total of ₹1.26 crore in cash on Thursday

The fake call centre was located in a three-storey building in front of MKP Chowk in Dehradun (Representative Image)

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Published on Jul 24, 2022 04:58 PM IST

ByAmit Bathla

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Amit Bathla

Gurjeet Kaur, 28, died late on Wednesday a little after a team of UP police barged into the farmhouse in the district’s Bharatpur village on a lead that Mohammed Jafar, who has a ₹50,000 on his arrest and was wanted in cases relating to illegal sand mining, was hiding there

Bangladesh national Ali Noor and Abdul Talha, who were among those arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS, stayed in Haridwar using fake identities, police said

The group of 34 trainees and seven instructors was hit by the avalanche at around 8.45am on October 4 near the Dokrani Bamak glacier while returning from a high-altitude navigation exercise at the Mount Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak (5,670 metres).

A 41-member group from NIM, including 34 trainees and seven instructors, were hit by an avalanche around 8.45 am on Tuesday while returning from high-altitude navigation from the Mount Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak (5,670 metres).

Savita Kanswal, 26, this year became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu over the course of just 16 days to set a national record.

Two instructors including 26-year-old Savita Kanswal, who became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest and Mount Makalu in just 16 days, are among those who were killed in the avalanche

An instructor at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Savita Kanswal climbed Mount Everest (8848 m) on May 12

The avalanche occurred at around 8.45am near the Dokrani Bamak glacier, while the group of advanced trainees and instructors was returning after high-altitude navigation from the Mount Draupadi ka Danda 2 peak.

Ankita Bhandari, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Ganga Bhogpur Talla area, was found dead on September 24, six days after she was reported missing.

The accused were taken one by one to the Vanantara resort and the Chill canal, from where the girl’s body was recovered on September 24

Sanjay, RSS prachar pramukh in Uttarakhand, said the RSS condemned Vipin Kandwal’s now-deleted remark on Facebook. He added that Vipin Karnwal had also apologised for his post

Former employees of the Vanantara Resort in Pauri district of Uttarakhand, where 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist when she was murdered, have stated that several illegal activities were regularly carried out on the premises, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

Vanantara resort, located in Ganga Bhogpur Talla in the Yamkeshwar area of Pauri Garwal district, comes under the jurisdiction of Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

Ankita Bhandari’s body was recovered from Cheela canal near Rishikesh early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

Ankita Bhandari (19) was killed near Rishikesh allegedly by her employer and her body was recovered from nearby Cheela canal early on Saturday, six days after her parents found her missing from her room.

The Uttarakhand woman’s family has questioned the government action of bulldozing parts of the resort owned by prime accused Pulkit Arya, the son of now expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya.

Pulkit Arya (35), son of former state minister and BJP leader Vinod Arya, was arrested along with Saurabh Bhaskar (35) and Ankit Gupta (19) and all of them have confessed to the crime, police said.

150 of the 228 appointments that were cancelled by Uttarakhand Ritu Khanduri Bhushan on Friday were made when the Congress, which had demanded the inquiry, was in power and its leader Govind Singh Kunjwal was speaker

Uttarakhand has the fourth highest rate of cyber fraud cases in the country after Telangana, Assam and Karnataka, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

The 23-year-old man from Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, who failed in the army recruitment in the two previous attempts due to medical reasons, failed in his last attempt in the Agniveer recruitment rally on Wednesday

The accused former Uttarakhand public service commission (UKPSC) member refuted the allegations and claimed that the woman is trying to gain cheap publicity by levelling ‘false’ allegations

Senior superintendent of police (STF), Ajay Singh, said in a press conference that BJP leader Rawat was one of the masterminds behind the paper leak operation and was on the run. He was arrested on Friday while flee to Himachal Pradesh from Arakot in Uttarkashi.

Police said Rawat is one of the “masterminds” of the leak, who was on the run and trying to enter Himachal Pradesh when he was held in Uttarkashi

Uttarakhand special task force SP Ajay Singh said the mastermind of the UKSSSC paper leak was part of an inter-state gang, and will be arrested very soon

The vigilance secured the government’s permission for the registration of the FIR against the accused on Saturday

The vigilance department on June 23 arrested Ram Vilas Yadav, who was then serving as an additional secretary in the Uttarakhand government, a day after the government suspended him

A woman from Roorkee was allegedly gang-raped at a drug de-addiction centre in Rishikesh around one and a half month ago

The special task force (STF) of the Uttarakhand police along with cyber police busted an illegally operating ‘international call centre’ and recovered a total of ₹1.26 crore in cash on Thursday

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