Ankita Bhandari's parents staged protests at India Gate, demanding a halt to BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam's appointment as Sikkim Governor until the CBI probe into her murder is completed. Allegations of VIP involvement, denied by Gautam and BJP, have reignited public outrage, with opposition leaders joining the family's call for justice.
THE MURDER CASE OF ANKITA BHANDARI has resurfaced, after Ankita’s parents began a sit-in protest at the India Gate on Wednesday, October 15, 2026, following the appointment of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim by President Draupadi Murmu, earlier this week.
The involvement of Gautam in this case arose from the allegations levelled by the family. They claimed that an “unidentified VIP” was involved in Ankita’s murder — in which they allege Gautam’s involvement. Both BJP and Gautam categorically denied any involvement, and also initiated defamation proceedings against the accusers.
In a fresh escalation to the case, the family is demanding to halt Gautam’s appointment until the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) probe is complete, and sat at the India Gate in protest. The family was also joined by senior congress leaders such as Pawan Khera, Priyanka Gandhi, as well as Leader of the Opposition (LOP) Rahul Gandhi, where they proclaimed their complete support to the family’s cause.
Ankita’s parents were detained by the Delhi police last night, October 14, 2026, and released from detention in the early hours of October 15, 2026. Ankita’s father issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the central government to withdraw Gautam’s appointment.
Investigation by the agency led to three men, who have been convicted of Ankita’s murder. This includes the resort owner Pulkit Arya and two other employees, Ankit Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar — who have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Notably Pulkit Arya is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya — who was expelled from the party after the murder.
After that, in December 2025, Urmila Sanawar — who claimed to be the wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore — released certain videos and audio clips. She alleged that the audio recordings were a conversation with Rathore, in which the latter mentioned that a senior leader named “Gattu” was the VIP involved in the Ankita Bhandari case. Rathore, however, claimed that the audios were AI-generated.
The Police, too, claimed that its Special Investigative Team (SIT) did not find any evidence that would establish the involvement of Gautam in the incident.
This generated a series of protests across Uttarakhand in January 2026, followed by a CBI investigation recommended by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Ankita’s family specifically wanted the investigation to focus on the alleged VIP involvement.
Since then, Gautam had begun separate legal proceedings against the accusers. In January 2026, Gautam, filed defamation suits against Sanawar, Rathore, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and a few other individuals, who allegedly “falsely linked” him to the murder. Likewise, the Delhi High Court ordered the Congress and AAP to remove all social media posts that imply Gautam’s involvement in the case.
Earlier this week, when President Draupadi Murmu appointed BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim’s Governor, Ankita’s family appealed to the President to halt the process, until the CBI investigation is concluded.
Ankita Bhandari was a 19-year-old receptionist, working at the Vanantara Resort in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, when she was murdered. Reportedly, during the police investigation, one of Ankita’s friends informed the police that she was under pressure to “entertain” a VIP.
This incident took place on September 18, 2022, just 20 days after Ankita joined the resort. Her body was recovered from a canal, six days after she went missing.
The SIT team found that Ankita was pressured to provide sexual services to guests, to which she had opposed. Finally, a court in Pauri Garhwal, convicted Pulkit Arya, Ankita Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar, sentencing them to life imprisonment. However, the claims regarding the involvement of a VIP did not feature in the chargesheet.
(OG/AR)
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