Public anger refuses to die down as Uttarakhand observe bandh seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari despite recommendation of CBI inquiry by Uttarakhand CM

Public anger refuses to die down as Uttarakhand observe bandh seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari despite recommendation of CBI inquiry by Uttarakhand CM

S.M.A. KAZMI

Dehradun, Jan 11

Despite recommendations of an Inquiry by Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) by the Uttarakhand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, yesterday, the public anger has not subsided as a bandh was observed in the entire state seeking justice for the young girl who was murdered in 2022.

The bandh was partial in the plain areas of Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts but was near total in the hilly areas particularly of Garhwal. After a successful march by the common people under the banner of Uttarakhand Mahila Manch and Insaniyat Manch on Jan 4 towards the residents of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to demand justice for Ankita Bhandari, a bandh call for January 11 was given by a joint committee of various social and political organisations.

Most of the cities and towns in the Garhwal and Kumoan region observed a bandh today. At many places demonstration and protest marches were carried out in support of the demand for justice to Ankita Bhandari.

The parents of Ankita Bhandari who were called to meet the Chief Minister on January 9 in Dehradun in a letter demanded that a sitting Supreme Court monitored CBI inquiry should be ordered to look into the case.

Bowing to the public pressure, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on January 10 announced recommendation of CBI inquiry into the Ankita murder case on Saturday evening.

The new disclosures in the Ankita Bhandari murder case of 2022 and attempts by the ruling BJP / RSS dispensation to brush it under the carpet has led to public anger.

However, even the recommendation for a CBI inquiry and the subsequent developments have led to controversy. After the announcement of CBI inquiry by the Chief Minister, an FIR was registered by the Uttarakhand police on a complaint made by environmentalist Dr. Anil Joshi who is a Padam Bhushan recipient who is considered close to the ruling dispensation. A senior police officer soon announced that the CBI inquiry would be conducted on the complaint of Dr. Ani Joshi. This led to an uproar on the social media where social organisations, political parties and individual questioned the locus standi of Dr. Anil Joshi in the case. Joshi in his complaint had demanded that the role of so called ‘VIP’ who was alleged to have asked for ‘special services’ from Ankita should be probed. It was asked that why the complaint of parents of the deceased should not be the base of the CBI inquiry. Later, Uttarakhand police said that the latter of parents of Ankita along with FIR of Dr. Anil Joshi would form the base of CBI probe.

Ankita Bhandari, a young girl working as a receptionist at Vantara tourist resort near Rishikesh in Ganga-Bhogpur area of Pauri Garhwal district was allegedly raped and subsequently murdered in 2022. The case gained national and international publicity since the resort belonged to the son of a senior RSS functionary holding a ministerial level position in Uttarakhand. It was alleged that Ankita Bhandari was murdered by the resort owner with the help of two other accomplices for her refusal to give “Special” services to a VIP guest. Her body was thrown in the canal and was found after six days. The mother of the deceased named a senior RSS functionary as the VIP but the police did not mention it in the FIR.

Three main accused Pulkit Arya (owner of the resort), Ankit Gupta (Assistant Resort Manager) and Saurabh Bhaskar (Resort Manager) confessed to the murder and were convicted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi in May 2025 and are presently in jail. The local BJP MLA Renu Bisht was also allegedly accused in attempts to destroy the evidence of the case by ordering the demolition of the Vantara resort. She was also not made an accused in the case.

The case again made headlines last month when a woman namely Urmila Sanwar who calls herself second wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore from Haridwar made an audio viral in which Suresh Rathore was reportedly heard saying that a senior RSS functionary was present in the Vantara resort before the murder of Ankita Bhandari.

This has led to a political storm with women groups, social organisations and opposition political parties charging ruling BJP of hiding the truth. Representatives of the social organisations and political parties argued that the new allegations that have recently surfaced in the Ankita murder case make a fresh and impartial investigation absolutely necessary.

They further claimed that Ankita Bhandari’s murder was not part of a normal criminal incident, but rather the result of a criminal network of the ruling party that has been protected. They alleged that despite the names of alleged VIP coming to surface the government has not yet taken any concrete step to take action. They said that in light of the new allegations, all those involved in this case should receive the harshest possible punishment.

On the other hand, former BJP MLA Suresh Ratore and his so called second wife Urmila Sanwar, both appeared before Special investigation Team (SIT) formed to look into the fresh allegations. Uttarakhand police had registered several Firs against both since the allegations surfaced on social media.

Meanwhile, Dushyant Gautam, BJP general secretary incharge went to Delhi High court filing a defamation case against opposition parties particularly main opposition Congress, AAP and others for allegedly defaming him in the case. He also filed a FIR with Uttarakhand police in Dalanwala police station of Dehradun.

In Kumaon region as a fallout of the case, eight different cases were filed against Jyoti Adhikari, a social media influencer for allegedly using derogatory language during the demonstrations seeking justice for Ankita. The cases were filed by BJP workers and leader and she was sent to jail.