Published Oct 15, 2026 | 6:34 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 15, 2026 | 6:34 AM
Ankita Bhanduri's parents and their supporters, including MPs, were detained around 3.45 am on Thursday,
Synopsis: Accompanied by CRPF personnel, the police swooped down on the protesters in the dark and whisked them away from India Gate. Congress MPs, including Pawan Khera, Imran Pratapgarhi, Jothimani, R Sudha and other leaders Supriya Shrinate, Uday Bhanu Chib, Vinod Jakhar, and Varun Chaudhary, were also detained.
The Delhi Police detained the parents of the slain teenager Ankita Bhandari, who are Congress MPs, including Pawan Khera, Imran Pratapgarhi, Jothimani, R Sudha, and other leaders from India Gate in New Delhi around 3.45 am on Thursday, 15 October.
They were sitting in protest, demanding that the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the Governor of Sikkim be put on hold until the CBI completed the ongoing probe into Ankita’s murder at a Uttarakhand resort in 2022.
Accompanied by CRPF personnel, the police swooped down on the protesters in the dark and whisked them away. The police also detained leaders Supriya Shrinate, Uday Bhanu Chib, Vinod Jakhar, and Varun Chaudhary.
Ankita’s family and activists suspected Gautam of playing a role in her death following allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. They demanded an investigation into the VIP’s role.
Ankita was a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh when she was killed on 18 September 2022. The 19-year-old’s body was found four days later in the Chilla canal.
Resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two accomplices were convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment. Pulkit is the son of BJP leader Vinod Arya.
Ankita’s family and activists demanded a probe into the alleged VIP angle, and they linked Gautam to the allegations. Her parents claimed that the VIP who had played a major role in her murder was Gautam.
On Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi met Ankita’s parents at India Gate and expressed solidarity with them. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, and other Congress leaders were with him.
“The family is in deep pain as it becomes clear that the entire Modi-Shah machinery is in complete support of Dushyant Gautam, the ‘VIP’ who they allege was at the centre of the entire horrific incident. Today, he has been appointed as a Governor and given immunity from prosecution,” AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal said on Wednesday.
He added that Gautam’s gubernatorial appointment was “a deeply humiliating insult for Ankita Bhandari and her parents”.
“But it is also an insult to the Constitution. Someone so tainted being made a Governor diminishes the stature of the post and the Constitution itself [sic],” he said on X.
Gandhi had met Ankita’s parents in August and said they were still awaiting justice four years after their daughter was murdered.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
