Ankita Bhandari’s parents were released on Wednesday after being detained during an overnight protest near India Gate in Delhi. The family is demanding a comprehensive investigation into allegations surrounding an unidentified VIP in the 2022 murder case.
BY PC Bureau
NEW DELHI/ Ovctober 15: The father of Ankita Bhandari, the 19-year-old receptionist murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022, has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to revoke BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Governor of Sikkim, warning that people across the country would take to the streets if his demand was not met.
Ankita’s parents were released on Wednesday morning, hours after being detained while protesting near India Gate in central Delhi. They had spent the night at the site demanding justice for their daughter and a thorough investigation into allegations concerning the possible involvement of an unidentified VIP in the murder.
The family has opposed Gautam’s appointment, insisting that he should not occupy a constitutional office while the allegations are being investigated. Gautam, who previously served as the BJP’s national general secretary and party in-charge for Uttarakhand, has strongly denied the allegations and initiated defamation proceedings.
Accompanied by Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera, Ankita’s parents reiterated that Gautam’s appointment should be revoked until the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) completes its probe into the allegations.
सुबह के 4 बजे। जब दुनिया सो रही थी, तब अंकिता भंडारी के माता-पिता को हिरासत में ले लिया गया।
उनका गुनाह? वे इंडिया गेट पर चुपचाप बैठे थे – बोझिल कंधों के साथ, बिना किसी हंगामे के और सिर्फ़ इतना माँग रहे थे कि CBI जाँच पूरी होने तक दुष्यंत गौतम को सिक्किम का राज्यपाल न बनाया जाए।
कल मैं और प्रियंका इन माता-पिता से मिले थे।
जिस जाँच का नतीजा आया नहीं, उसके पहले ही नियुक्ति की जल्दी और सवाल पूछने वाले माँ-बाप को रात के अंधेरे में उठा लिया गया।
इस सरकार की पहचान यही है: पीड़ितों की आवाज़ दबा दो, सवाल करने वालों को हटा दो।पर न्याय की लड़ाई न दबेगी, न रुकेगी।
कांग्रेस अंकिता भंडारी के परिवार के साथ खड़ी है, और खड़ी रहेगी – जब तक उन्हें न्याय नहीं मिलता।#JusticeForAnkitaBhandari
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 15, 2026
Speaking to reporters after her release, Ankita’s mother said the family would continue its protest until the appointment was withdrawn.
“We will remain steadfast until his appointment is revoked. If we are not permitted to sit here, we will sit on a hunger strike in our own homes,” she said.
Ankita’s father issued a direct warning to the government, declaring that failure to act within 24 hours would trigger nationwide protests.
“If it is not revoked within 24 hours, people across the entire country will take to the streets, and the government will be held responsible,” he said.
The family maintains that Gautam’s elevation to the gubernatorial post, given his earlier organisational responsibilities in Uttarakhand, risks undermining public confidence in the investigation. Congress has also questioned the timing of the appointment, arguing that the constitutional protections available to a sitting Governor could complicate efforts to investigate allegations against him.
Gautam has denied wrongdoing. The allegations linking him to the broader VIP controversy remain distinct from the murder convictions already secured in the case.
Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vantara resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022. Her body was recovered from a 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.
The case subsequently became the subject of a wider controversy over allegations that an unidentified VIP had sought special services from Ankita. The family has continued to demand a comprehensive investigation into the alleged VIP angle.
In December 2025, Ankita’s parents named Gautam in connection with these allegations, bringing the BJP leader under renewed scrutiny. Gautam has rejected the accusations and pursued legal action over them.
The parents’ detention in Delhi, followed by their release and the father’s 24-hour ultimatum, has intensified pressure on the government to address the family’s demands. The central question now is whether the government will reconsider Gautam’s appointment or allow the controversy to deepen amid calls for a more comprehensive investigation.
