New Delhi. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached India Gate here on Wednesday and met the parents of Ankita Bhandari and expressed support towards them. The parents of the victim are on strike in protest against the political appointment of a 'VIP' allegedly involved in the famous Ankita Bhandari murder case of Uttarakhand. Congress claimed that the then Uttarakhand in-charge of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Dushyant Gautam, had been charged in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case of the year 2022.
Referring to the appointment of “VIP” Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim, the party also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government of protecting him. There was no immediate response from BJP or Gautam on these allegations of Congress. Ankita's father opposed Gautam's appointment, saying that he should not be appointed governor until the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the case is completed. He requested President Draupadi Murmu to stop Gautam's appointment and alleged that he should be “behind bars.”
Ankita's parents have been continuously raising questions about the identity and role of the alleged 'VIP' related to the murder and are demanding a fair investigation and ensuring accountability in the case. Ankita, 19, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort near Rishikesh, was murdered on September 18, 2022. His body was recovered from Chilla Canal four days after the incident. In this case, the court has convicted the resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
The matter arose again after the audio clip surfaced
The case once again gained political momentum in December last year when some audio clips of an alleged conversation between former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and actress Urmila Sanawar, who claimed to be his wife, were circulated on social media. After this, fresh questions were raised regarding the role of the alleged 'VIP' in the murder. Various political parties and social organizations including Congress held several demonstrations demanding a CBI investigation into the case.
Ankita's parents also took part in these demonstrations. Amidst the growing protests, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had met Ankita's parents in January this year and later recommended a CBI inquiry into the case. Ankita's parents are now on strike in Delhi protesting against Gautam's political appointment. Congress has been demanding for a long time that the identity and role of the alleged 'VIP' in this case should be made public and an impartial investigation into the entire episode should be conducted.
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