The Ankita Bhandari murder case returned to Uttarakhand politics as CBI officers questioned her parents on Friday. Meanwhile, Congress started protests against Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor. Ankita’s father Virendra Bhandari said, "VIP has a main role in my daughter's murder," questioning the timing of the central probe.
DEHRADUN: Four years after it shook the nation, the Ankita Bhandari murder case is back at the centre of Uttarakhand politics, driven by two major developments in an election year.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had recommended a CBI probe in February 2026. After an eight-month wait, two CBI officers from Delhi finally reached Ankita's ancestral village in Pauri district on Friday and questioned her parents for several hours.
The second trigger is the appointment of former BJP in-charge Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. Gautam's name has been repeatedly dragged into the case by Ankita's family and activists as the alleged VIP linked to it.
The Congress has announced street protests against the appointment. On Tuesday, Pradesh Congress Committee president and CWC member Ganesh Godiyal held a one-hour symbolic silent fast in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Gandhi Park in Dehradun.
"Appointing a person who has been clearly named as VIP by Ankita Bhandari's parents as Governor is a deep blow to the sentiments of the common people of Uttarakhand," Godiyal said.
He questioned the pace of the central probe, alleging, "The CBI probe has not moved an inch and not even an FIR has been registered against the named accused. In such a situation, appointing such a person to the post of Governor is highly objectionable."
Social activist Urmila Sanawar, who has been vocal on the case, has also reiterated the demand for justice.
The sharpest reaction, however, came from Ankita's father, Virendra Bhandari. He questioned both the CBI's working style and the government's intent.
"VIP has a main role in my daughter's murder. We demanded CBI inquiry in January, now starting the probe in October is a well-thought-out move," Bhandari said. He alleged the timing was political: "The government does not want to complete the investigation before the 2027 elections, so that it can take credit for the probe during elections."
Recalling his interaction with the agency, he said, "At the beginning of this year on January 7, we went to the Chief Minister's residence and demanded CBI. I had demanded that the CBI probe be monitored by a Supreme Court judge."