Parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022, were released early Thursday morning, hours after being detained while protesting near India Gate against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor.
While being detained, her father issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Centre to cancel Gautam’s appointment.
According to sources, her parents were released around 5 am.
Ankita’s father threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if the government did not accept their demand. Her family has been alleging that Gautam played a key role in Ankita’s death.
"We give a 24-hour ultimatum to the government for the cancellation of Dushyant's appointment. Nationwide protests will be launched if the government does not accept our demand," Ankita's father told PTI Videos.
Apart from the parents, several Congress leaders, including the party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, social media department head Supriya Shrinate and Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib, were also detained and later released.
"The pinnacle of the Modi government's cowardice and insensitivity! The parents of Ankita Bhandari, who are pleading for justice, are taken into custody, while a BJP 'VIP' is rewarded with the Governor's post," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
The parents have been demanding that Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor be put on hold until the ongoing CBI investigation into the case is complete.
BJP leader Gautam's name has been repeatedly dragged into the case by Ankita's family and activists as the alleged VIP linked to it. He was appointed the governor of Sikkim on Monday.
Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022.
Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices have been convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case hogged the political spotlight over allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. Ankita’s family and activists have demanded an investigation into the alleged VIP angle, with Gautam’s name being raised in connection with the allegations.
Gautam has denied the accusations and initiated defamation proceedings against them.
The Congress has claimed that the appointment was aimed at shielding Gautam, arguing that a governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while holding office.
A former national general secretary of the BJP, Gautam had served as the party’s in-charge for Uttarakhand.