Ankita Bhandari row: Uttarakhand Congress chief Godiyal to protest Dushyant Gautam's appointment as Sikkim Governor

In a post on X, Godiyal said the appointment had deeply hurt the sentiments of the common people of the state. “Appointing as Governor the VIP explicitly named by Ankita Bhandari’s parents in the Ankita Bhandari murder case is tantamount to deeply wounding the sentiments of the common people of Uttarakhand,” he said.

Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UKPCC) President and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ganesh Godiyal on Tuesday announced a one-hour silent fast in Dehradun to protest the appointment of a person as Governor, whom the parents of Ankita Bhandari had named as the VIP in her alleged murder case. In a post on X, Godiyal said the appointment had deeply hurt the sentiments of the common people of the state.

“Appointing as Governor the VIP explicitly named by Ankita Bhandari’s parents in the Ankita Bhandari murder case is tantamount to deeply wounding the sentiments of the common people of Uttarakhand,” he said. He further alleged that the CBI probe had made no progress. “Meanwhile, the CBI investigation has not advanced even an inch, and the CBI has not filed any FIR against the named accused. Appointing such a person to the post of Governor is highly objectionable,” he said.

Announcing the protest, Godiyal said, “Therefore, tomorrow at 12 noon, I will sit in a one-hour silent fast in a symbolic protest in front of the Gandhi statue at Gandhi Park, Dehradun.” On Monday, Dushyant Gautam was appointed Governor of Sikkim; he is a former BJP National General Secretary and former president of the party's Scheduled Caste Morcha. He has served as a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and as a Rajya Sabha member.

Gautam, a Dalit leader, has held several organisational positions within the BJP and has been associated with initiatives concerning Scheduled Caste communities. The controversy traces back to the murder of Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old resort receptionist in Uttarakhand, whose body was recovered from a canal in September 2022.

The case involved allegations that she was being pressured to provide sexual favours to guests at a resort run by Pulkit Arya, the son of a former BJP leader. The case gained renewed attention after an FIR was registered against an unidentified VIP in January 2026, following allegations and viral audio and video clips referring to the involvement of a VIP.

The Central Bureau of Investigation subsequently registered the case through its Special Crime Branch after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI probe on January 9, 2026. The CBI has since taken custody of records related to the case, including the Special Investigation Team report, the police FIR and other documents. The agency is also expected to record the statement of Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who had filed the FIR.

The development came after protests across Uttarakhand demanding a CBI investigation into the alleged VIP angle in Ankita Bhandari's murder. In this case, the resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankita Gupta have already been sentenced to life imprisonment. (ANI)