DEHRADUN: Four years after it shook the nation, the Ankita Bhandari murder case is back at the centre of Uttarakhand politics, driven by two major developments in an election year.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had recommended a CBI probe in February 2026. After an eight-month wait, two CBI officers from Delhi finally reached Ankita's ancestral village in Pauri district on Friday and questioned her parents for several hours.
The second trigger is the appointment of former BJP in-charge Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. Gautam's name has been repeatedly dragged into the case by Ankita's family and activists as the alleged VIP linked to it.
The Congress has announced street protests against the appointment. On Tuesday, Pradesh Congress Committee president and CWC member Ganesh Godiyal held a one-hour symbolic silent fast in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Park in Dehradun.
"Appointing a person who has been clearly named as VIP by Ankita Bhandari's parents as Governor is a deep blow to the sentiments of the common people of Uttarakhand," Godiyal said.
He questioned the pace of the central probe, alleging, "The CBI probe has not moved an inch and not even an FIR has been registered against the named accused. In such a situation, appointing such a person to the post of Governor is highly objectionable."
Social activist Urmila Sanawar, who has been vocal on the case, has also reiterated the demand for justice.
The sharpest reaction, however, came from Ankita's father, Virendra Bhandari. He questioned both the CBI's working style and the government's intent.
"VIP has a main role in my daughter's murder. We demanded CBI inquiry in January, now starting the probe in October is a well-thought-out move," Bhandari said. He alleged the timing was political: "The government does not want to complete the investigation before the 2027 elections, so that it can take credit for the probe during elections."
Recalling his interaction with the agency, he said, "At the beginning of this year on January 7, we went to the Chief Minister's residence and demanded CBI. I had demanded that the CBI probe be monitored by a Supreme Court judge."
Bhandari cited viral videos involving Urmila Sanawar and former MLA Suresh Rathore. According to Bhandari, Rathore is heard claiming in those videos that Ajay Kumar and Dushyant Kumar Gautam were the VIPs in the case.
Listing his demands to the CBI, Bhandari said the agency should not re-record statements already given in Kotdwar court but focus on technical evidence.
"I want to tell CBI that statements of 47 witnesses have been done in Kotdwar court, then why are you harassing them again? First of all, extract the call details of accused Pulkit Arya's phone from 18th September 2022 to 19th September 2022," he said.
He further demanded: "Who ordered the demolition of Vanantara Resort and call details from 8 am on 22nd September, 23rd September 2022 should be extracted."
"SIT intentionally did not extract call details because Pulkit Arya must have talked to many VIPs that day. His new phone was deposited when he bought a new phone on the 19th. The old phone was never deposited," Bhandari alleged.
