Nearly four years after Ankita Bhandari's murder in Uttarakhand, the alleged VIP angle has resurfaced after her parents demanded that BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam's appointment as Sikkim Governor be put on hold until the CBI completes its probe.
Ankita Bhandari went missing in September 2022 and her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later. (File photo)
New Delhi,Oct 15, 2026 10:38 IST
The murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand has returned to the national spotlight, nearly four years after her death, with her parents refusing to let the alleged “VIP angle” in the case fade from public memory. The parents of the 19-year-old receptionist are demanding a fresh probe into the allegations, insisting that the investigation establish whether anyone beyond those already convicted was involved in the case.
Their protest intensified following the appointment of senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor. Ankita’s parents want the appointment put on hold until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, ordered by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, into the alleged VIP angle is completed.
On Wednesday, the family staged a sit-in protest at India Gate, where they were joined by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. However, the protest was cut short when police detained the demonstrators, including Ankita’s parents, and later released them in the early hours of Thursday.
The family had earlier met Rahul Gandhi in August as well to raise their concerns.
At the heart of the renewed controversy is a question that has persisted since Ankita’s murder in 2022: was an influential person connected to the circumstances surrounding her death and has that aspect of the case been adequately investigated?
WHAT HAPPENED TO ANKITA BHANDARI?
Ankita worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district. She went missing in September 2022 and her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later.
The case triggered widespread outrage after allegations emerged that Ankita had been pressured to provide sexual favours to guests at the resort and that a dispute over such demands preceded her murder.
Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were accused in the case. All three were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2025.
While the convictions addressed the criminal responsibility established in the murder trial, questions about an alleged VIP connection continued to surface, fuelling demands for further investigation.
HOW DUSHYANT GAUTAM’S NAME SURFACED IN THE CASE?
The newly appointed Sikkim Governor Dushyant Gautam came under public scrutiny in connection with the case after actress Urmila Sanawar released a series of videos and an audio clip alleging that she had information about the alleged VIP whose name had been linked to the 2022 murder.
In December 2025, Sanawar, who claims to be the second wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, shared the material on social media, including an audio recording purportedly featuring a conversation with Rathore.
Sanawar alleged that a senior leader known as “Gattu” was the VIP in the case.
A day later, Rathore questioned the authenticity of the viral audio recording, claiming it had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Amid the controversy, Gautam approached the police in Dehradun in January 2026 and filed a complaint in which he described the allegations against him as false. Days later, he moved the Delhi High Court with a civil defamation suit against Sanawar, Rathore, relevant Congress office-bearers and entities associated with digital platforms, seeking legal relief over the allegations linking him to the Ankita Bhandari case.
The Delhi High Court, finding a prima facie case of defamation, restrained the relevant defendants from publishing or circulating material identifying Gautam as the alleged VIP in the case or implying that he was the person being referred to. The court also directed that specified content be removed within 24 hours.
However, Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor on October 12, 2026, brought the controversy back into focus and prompted Ankita’s parents to intensify their protest.
The family has demanded that the appointment be put on hold until the CBI completes its investigation. They have appealed to the Centre and President Droupadi Murmu to reconsider the decision.
During Wednesday’s protest at India Gate, Ankita’s mother broke down while demanding that Gautam not assume the gubernatorial post before the investigation was completed.
“I appeal to the Honourable President, who is herself a woman and will surely understand my sentiments, to halt the move to appoint this individual as Governor until the CBI investigation against him is concluded,” she said.
Her father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, alleged that an unidentified VIP had played a significant role in his daughter’s murder and named Gautam in connection with the allegation.
“Dushyant Kumar should be behind bars,” he said, urging the President to put the appointment on hold until the investigation was completed.
Ankita’s father also issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Centre, warning of nationwide protests if the family’s demand was not accepted.
COPS’ RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGED VIP ANGLE
The police have maintained that their investigation did not establish the involvement of a VIP in the murder. The police said the resort records and questioning of staff did not establish the involvement of a VIP in the crime.
In January 2026, Haridwar Superintendent of Police (Rural) Shekhar Suyal said the person whose name had surfaced during questioning and in chats was Dharmendra Kumar, alias Pradhan, a resident of Noida and an acquaintance of Ankita.
According to the police, he had visited the area for work two days before the murder and briefly stopped at the Vanantra resort for a meal.
POLITICAL SLUGFEST OVER THE CASE
The renewed protests have triggered a political exchange between the Congress and the BJP, with the opposition questioning Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor and demanding accountability.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the BJP over Gautam’s appointment, alleging that the family had been denied justice while an accused VIP had been rewarded with a constitutional position.
“Four years on, Ankita Bhandari's family has not received justice, but a 'VIP' accused has certainly received protection and the reward of a constitutional post,” Rahul said in a post on X. Expressing solidarity with the family, he added, “I and the Congress party stand with them — in their grief and in this fight for justice.”
The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the Uttarakhand government’s handling of the case, pointing to the arrests, the formation of a Special Investigation Team and the convictions of the three accused, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2025.
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