New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, met the parents of Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered at a resort in Uttarakhand in 2022, as they staged a protest near India Gate on Wednesday against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor.
The family is demanding that Gautam’s appointment be put on hold until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case is complete. Gautam, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, was appointed governor of Sikkim on Monday.
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 have been convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case drew political attention 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 claims. Gautam has denied the accusations and initiated defamation proceedings against those making them. The allegations against him remain unproven.
“Dushyant Gautam should not be appointed governor until the CBI investigation is complete,” Ankita’s mother said, breaking down as she sat on the pavement near India Gate.
Ankita’s father alleged that a VIP played a key role in his daughter’s murder and claimed that Gautam was responsible.
“We have heard that the VIP had a major role in my daughter’s murder. Now, the Centre and the Uttarakhand government have appointed Gautam as the governor of Sikkim,” he said.
“We humbly request the government and the President of India that he should not be appointed Sikkim governor until the CBI investigation into the case is over,” he added.
The parents said they had sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to raise their concerns. They warned that if their demand was not met, they would stage a hunger strike outside the Uttarakhand chief minister’s office at the Secretariat in Dehradun.
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 Ankita murder case and claimed the appointment was intended to shield him, arguing that a governor cannot face criminal proceedings while holding office.
Gautam, a former national general secretary of the BJP, had served as the party’s in-charge for Uttarakhand.