The parents of Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered at a resort in Uttarakhand in 2022, staged a protest near India Gate in New Delhi on Wednesday, demanding that Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor be put on hold until the ongoing CBI investigation into the case is completed.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met the parents and expressed solidarity with them.
Gandhi was accompanied by his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other Congress leaders.
Gandhi had earlier met Bhandari's parents in August and had said four years have passed and they are still awaiting justice for an unforgivable crime against their daughter.
Ankita’s mother broke down while appealing to the Centre and President Droupadi Murmu not to proceed with the appointment before the probe concludes.
“Dushyant Gautam should not be appointed governor until the CBI investigation is complete,” she said.
Her father alleged that an unidentified VIP had played a key role in his daughter’s murder and claimed that Gautam was responsible. The allegations against the BJP leader remain unproven. Gautam has denied them and initiated defamation proceedings against those making the accusations.
The family has sought an appointment with President Murmu to raise its concerns. They warned that they would stage a hunger strike outside the Uttarakhand chief minister’s office at the Secretariat in Dehradun if their demand was not met.
Gautam was appointed Sikkim governor on Monday. His name has repeatedly figured in demands by Ankita’s family and activists for a probe into the alleged VIP angle in the case.
Ankita, 19, worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh. She was killed on September 18, 2022, and 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 were convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, allegations surrounding the identity and role of an alleged VIP have continued to draw political attention.
The protest comes amid opposition from the Uttarakhand Congress to Gautam’s appointment. The party has alleged that his name surfaced in connection with the case and claimed that the appointment was intended to shield him, arguing that a governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while holding office.
Gautam, a former BJP national general secretary, had served as the party’s in-charge for Uttarakhand.
(With inputs from PTI)