Anger mounts in Ankita murder case

Members of Opposition parties and various organisations rallied on Sunday to the Chief Minister’s residence demanding the

disclosure of the name of the ‘VIP’ allegedly involved in the Ankita Bhandari murder case and an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. A large number of people participated in the protest which began at the Parade Ground and continued to Hathibadkala, where the protesters were stopped by the police from marching further towards the CM

residence.

A day ago on Saturday, the Uttarakhand police had stated that a businessman Dharmendra Kumar alias Pradhan from Noida spent about three hours in the Vanantara resort, where Bhandari worked, on September 16, 2022 and left soon after. This man is being misconstrued as the ‘VIP’ involved in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, the police had said.  

However, opposition parties and some organisations are not satisfied with this explanation and carried out a protest march demanding information on the ‘VIP’.

It will be recalled that in the recent past, audio recordings of phone conversations between former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and his alleged second wife Urmila Sanawar had gone viral on social media. In one of the recordings, Rathore can be purportedly heard stating that the BJP national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam was the ‘VIP’ involved in the case.

However, both Gautam and the BJP have strongly rejected the claims. Cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal has stressed that the State Government is ready for any type of investigation if it gets credible evidence. However, both the persons involved in the audio recordings have not come forward to cooperate in the police investigation so far, he said.

Meanwhile, members of the Congress, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, Left parties and various organisations protested in support of the demands for a CBI probe and the disclosure of the name of the ‘VIP’ allegedly involved in the murder case. Congress leaders also staged similar protests in different parts of Garhwal and Kumaon on the same day.