Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi meet parents of murdered Ankita Bhandari as they protest Sikkim Governor appointment

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi with Ankita Bhandari’s parents during their sit-in protest at India Gate in New Delhi on October 14, 2026. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) met the parents of late Ankita Bhandari who were staging a protest sit-in near India Gate against the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor.

Read also: The murder that shook the mountain

Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, was killed in 2022 by her employer Pulkit Arya, son of a BJP leader, and two of his aides. An inquest found that she was murdered after she refused to provide “special services” to a VIP who was due to visit the resort the week of her death.

In August 2025, after almost three years of trial, the Sessions Court sentenced the three accused to life imprisonment.

Alleged VIP angle

Despite the convictions, Bhandari’s family and supporters continue to demand a thorough investigation into the alleged VIP angle in the case. Her parents claimed that the VIP in question was Mr. Gautam, a former Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary of the BJP. They believed that his political influence prevented his name from being included in the investigation.

Mr Gautam has categorically denied all these allegations and even filed a defamation case in the Delhi High Court against several people, including the Uttarakhand Congress party, earlier this year.

Addressing the media at India Gate, Bhandari’s parents Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi urged President Droupadi Murma to suspend Mr Gautam’s appointment until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged VIP link in their daughter’s murder is completed.

Fight for justice

Mr Gandhi met the family in August and expressed concern that they were still waiting for answers years after their daughter’s death.

“For four years, Ankita Bhandari’s family has not received justice, but the accused ‘VIP’ has certainly been rewarded with protection and constitutional status,” he wrote on X after meeting Mr. Bhandari.

He added, “Where rapists and murderers are garlanded and criminals are honored with positions of authority, no hope can be expected from such a misogynistic BJP. Today, Ankita’s parents, carrying their plea for justice for their daughter, are sitting at India Gate, miles away from their home. I and the Congress party stand with them in their grief for justice and in this struggle.”

Amid the recent controversy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said his government has ensured speedy arrests, SIT investigations, life imprisonment for the convicts and even recommended a CBI probe into the matter.

Published – 14 October 2026 21:30 IST