New Delhi, Oct 14 Parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered at a resort in Uttarakhand in 2022, staged a protest near the India Gate 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 complete.
BJP leader Gautam’s name has been repeatedly dragged into the case by Ankita’s family and activists as the alleged VIP linked to it. He was appointed the governor of Sikkim on Monday.
Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022.
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 hogged the political spotlight 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 allegations.
Gautam has denied the accusations and initiated defamation proceedings against them.
“Dushyant Gautam should not be appointed governor until the CBI investigation is complete,” Ankita’s mother said, as she broke down while sitting on the pavement near the India Gate.
Ankita’s father alleged that a VIP played a key role in his daughter’s murder and claimed that Gautam was the one responsible. The allegations against Gautam, however, remain unproven.
“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 have sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to raise their concerns, warning that if their demand is not met, they would sit on 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, with the party alleging that his name had surfaced in connection with the Ankita murder case.
The Congress has claimed that the appointment was aimed at shielding Gautam, arguing that a governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while holding office.
A former national general secretary of the BJP, Gautam had served as the party’s in-charge for Uttarakhand.
(PTI News)
