Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi with the parents of Ankita Bhandari during their sit-in protest at India Gate in New Delhi on October 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Wednesday (October 14, 2026) met the parents of the late Ankita Bhandari, who were staging a sit-in protest near India Gate against the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim.
Bhandari, who had worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, was killed in 2022 by her employer, Pulkit Arya, the son of a BJP leader, and two of his aides. The investigation found that she was murdered after refusing to provide “special services” to a VIP who was scheduled to visit the resort in the week of her death.
In August 2025, after nearly three years of trial, a sessions court sentenced the three accused to life imprisonment.
Alleged VIP angle
Despite the convictions, Bhandari’s family and supporters have continued to demand a thorough investigation into the alleged VIP angle in the case. Her parents alleged that Mr. Gautam, a former Rajya Sabha MP and BJP general secretary was the VIP in question. They held that his political influence had prevented his name from being included in the investigation.
Mr. Gautam has categorically denied all these charges and even filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court earlier this year against several people, including the Uttarakhand Congress party.
Speaking to the media at India Gate, Bhandari’s parents, Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi, urged President Droupadi Murmu to suspend Mr. Gautam’s appointment until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged VIP connection in their daughter’s murder is completed.
Fight for justice
Mr. Gandhi had met the family in August and expressed concern that they were still waiting for answers years after their daughter’s death.
“For four years, Ankita Bhandari’s family has not received justice, but a ‘VIP’ accused has certainly been rewarded with protection and a constitutional position,” he wrote on X after meeting Mr. Bhandari.
He added: “Where rapists and murderers are welcomed with garlands and criminals are honoured with positions of authority, no hope can be expected from such a misogynistic BJP. Today, Ankita’s parents, carrying their plea for justice for their daughter, are sitting at India Gate, miles away from their home. I and the Congress Party stand with them in their grief as well as in this fight for justice.”
Amid the recent controversy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said that his government had ensured swift arrests, a SIT investigation, life imprisonment for the convicts, and even recommended a CBI investigation in the matter.
Published – October 14, 2026 09:30 pm IST
