Lucknow, Oct 14 Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Wednesday criticised the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as the governor of Sikkim, alleging that justice had yet to be delivered to Ankita Bhandari, whose case had triggered widespread public outrage.
In a post on X, Yadav said the entire country had been waiting for justice for Bhandari for years and alleged that the government should have investigated “VIP” Gautam’s role, instead of appointing him to a constitutional post.
Yadav said Bhandari’s family, along with women, parents and people across the country, was shocked and distressed, alleging that the government is honouring those facing allegations instead of ensuring justice for victims.
She accused the government of posing a threat to women’s safety and alleged that incidents of crimes against women, their humiliation and the suppression of their rights reflected an increasingly hostile attitude towards women.
Referring to the ongoing Navratri festival, Yadav said it is painful that the country had failed to secure justice for a daughter regarded as a manifestation of the divine.
She warned that women in India, if determined to fight injustice, could defeat every form of evil, including what she described as a government with an “anti-women mindset”.
Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was murdered on September 18, 2022.
Her body was found in the Chilla canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two of his 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. Bhandari’s family and activists have demanded an investigation into the alleged VIP angle.
The high-profile murder case had triggered widespread protests across Uttarakhand.
Bhandari’s parents staged a protest near India Gate, demanding that Gautam’s appointment be put on hold until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into their daughter’s murder case is complete.
(PTI News)
