India, May 30 -- A court in Uttarakhand on Friday convicted three men, including the son of an expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, of murdering a 19-year-old receptionist for refusing to provide "extra services" to a "VIP guest" at a resort in Pauri Garhwal in 2022. The murder sparked outrage and statewide protests, prompting the Uttarakhand Police to form a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the murder.

Additional district and sessions judge Reena Negi held Pulkit Arya, the resort owner and expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya's son, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta guilty under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)'s sections 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence), and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to...