Ankita Bhandari murder: Parents released after detention, give ultimatum to govt

Police personnel detain the parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022 while protesting near India Gate against the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim in New Delhi. | Photo credit: PTI

The parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022, were released early on Thursday, October 15, 2026, hours after they were detained during protests near India Gate against the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim.

During the detention, her father issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the center to cancel the meeting with Mr. Gautam.

Police detained the parents during the protest and released them around 5 am, sources said.

Ankita’s father threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if the government did not accept their demand. Her family claims that Mr. Gautam played a key role in Ankita’s death.

“We are giving a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to cancel Dushyant’s appointment. Nationwide protests will be launched if the government does not accept our demand,” Ankita’s father told PTI Videos.

Apart from the parents, several Congress leaders were also detained and later released, including the party’s head of media and publicity Pawan Khera, head of social media Supritya Shrinate and Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chiba.

The parents demanded that the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor be put on hold until the ongoing CBI investigation into the case is completed.

BJP leader Gautam’s name has been repeatedly dragged into the case by Ankita’s family and activists as an alleged VIP associated with him. He was appointed as the Governor of Sikkim on Monday (October 12).

Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022.

Her body was pulled from the Chilla Canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.

The case became a subject of political interest due to allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. Ankita’s family and activists have demanded a probe into the alleged VIP angle, with Mr Gautam’s name raised in connection with the allegations.

Mr. Gautam denied the allegations and initiated defamation proceedings against them.

The Congress claimed that the appointment was aimed at protecting Mr. Gautam, saying that the Governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while in office.

Former national general secretary of the BJP, Mr. Gautam, served as the party in-charge for Uttarakhand.

Published – 15 Oct 2026 07:58 IST