Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s decision to join the parents of Ankita Bhandari at a sit-in protest at India Gate on Wednesday has renewed national attention on the 2022 murder of the 19-year-old receptionist in Uttarakhand. The family is demanding that the appointment of senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim by the President earlier this week be put on hold until the ongoing CBI investigation into the case is completed.Ankita’s father, Virendra Bhandari, appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to withhold Gautam’s appointment until an investigation is conducted. The family has alleged that an unidentified VIP was involved in the circumstances leading to Ankita’s murder and has named Gautam in its allegations. Gautam has denied any involvement and has initiated defamation proceedings against those accusing him.The protest marks a fresh escalation in a case where three men have already been convicted of her murder. The renewed controversy centres on whether the investigation adequately examined allegations about a VIP who was allegedly seeking sexual favours from Ankita.On Tuesday, the Uttarakhand Congress also protested Gautam’s appointment, accusing the BJP of disregarding the family’s demand for accountability. State Congress president Ganesh Godiyal said the appointment had deepened the family’s anguish and alleged that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttarakhand had failed to act on its request for an investigation into the alleged VIP’s role.But Mahendra Bhatt, BJP Uttarakhand president and Rajya Sabha MP, said that “the state government under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took several important steps in the case, from the swift arrest of the accused and the constitution of an SIT to effective prosecution and financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh to the victim’s family”. “When Ankita’s parents sought a CBI investigation, the Chief Minister also took a decision to advance the process. The government treated this sensitive case seriously and gave due consideration to the family’s demands,” Bhatt said.Sources in the Uttarakhand government also said that the chargesheet was filed before “on the basis of evidence and witness statements”. “The verdict was delivered by the court on the basis of the evidence presented and the due process of law,” sources said. The caseAnkita was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara resort in Rishikesh when she was killed on September 18, 2022, barely 20 days after joining. The resort was managed by Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya. Ankita’s body was recovered from a canal six days after she went missing.Story continues below this adThe state police’s Special Investigation Team found that Ankita had been pressured to provide sexual services to guests, which she opposed. In May 2025, a court in Pauri Garhwal convicted Pulkit Arya and his two associates, Ankit Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar, and sentenced all three to life imprisonment. The convictions established their criminal responsibility for the murder; they did not settle the separate allegations concerning a possible VIP.Questions about such a person have persisted since the case first came to light. During the trial, the prosecution referred to messages indicating that Ankita had been distressed by demands for “extra services” and wanted to leave the resort. Her family continued to seek an investigation into whether someone beyond the three convicted men had been involved.The controversy intensified in December 2025 after Urmila Sanawar, who claimed to be the wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, released videos and an audio clip of a purported conversation with him. Sanawar alleged that a senior leader known as “Gattu” was the VIP in the case. In the purported recording, Rathore allegedly linked Gautam to the allegations. Rathore later claimed that the clip was AI-generated, while Gautam denied the accusations.The police’s SIT had earlier said it found no evidence establishing the involvement of an influential leader in the murder.Story continues below this adFollowing renewed protests across Uttarakhand in January 2026, Dhami recommended a CBI investigation. Ankita’s father, Virendra, said the family wanted the probe to focus specifically on the alleged VIP angle and the motive for the murder, rather than simply repeat the investigation into the three convicted men. He also sought supervision by a retired Supreme Court judge.The allegations have led to separate legal proceedings. In January 2026, Gautam filed a defamation petition against Sanawar, Rathore, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and others, alleging that they had falsely linked him to the murder.The Delhi High Court subsequently directed the Congress and AAP to remove social media posts linking him to the case within 24 hours. In June, Rathore was arrested by Dehradun Police over allegations that he had conspired to falsely implicate Gautam in the case.