Ankita Bhandari’s Parents Detained at 4 AM; Congress Targets Modi Over Dushyant Gautam

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By TRH News Desk

Delhi Police detained Ankita Bhandari’s parents, Congress MPs and other protesters at India Gate during a sit-in demanding justice in the 2022 Uttarakhand murder case and questioning Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor.

New Delhi, October 15, 2026 — The detention of Ankita Bhandari’s parents during an early-morning protest at India Gate has triggered a fresh political confrontation, with the Congress accusing the Narendra Modi government of suppressing demands for justice and shielding an alleged VIP linked to the controversy surrounding the 2022 murder case.

According to the Congress and accounts shared by protesters on social media, Delhi Police, accompanied by personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), detained Ankita’s parents at around 3.45–4 am on Thursday. Congress MPs Pawan Khera, Imran Pratapgarhi, Jothimani and R. Sudha, along with party leaders Supriya Shrinate, Uday Bhanu Chib, Vinod Jakhar and Varun Chaudhary, were also reportedly detained.

The protesters had assembled at India Gate to demand justice for Ankita and oppose the appointment of former BJP national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. The parents have demanded that the appointment be put on hold until the investigation into the alleged VIP angle is completed.

In a post on X, the Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of sending police to detain the grieving parents in the early hours of the morning. The party questioned why parents demanding justice for their murdered daughter had been detained and alleged that the action was intended to silence their demands.

The Congress also questioned Gautam’s appointment, asking why the government was unwilling to address the family’s concerns.

Ankita Bhandari Case: Background to the ‘VIP’ Controversy

As reported earlier by The Raisina Hills in its October 14 story, “Rahul, Priyanka Meet Ankita Bhandari’s Family; Dushyant Gautam’s Sikkim Governor Appointment Under Fire”, the controversy intensified after President Droupadi Murmu appointed Gautam, a former BJP national general secretary and the party’s former Uttarakhand in-charge, as Sikkim Governor.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, worked as a receptionist at the Vanantara resort near Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. She was murdered in September 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya and two employees were convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, the family’s demand for a fuller investigation into the alleged VIP angle has kept the case in the public spotlight. The family has sought scrutiny of allegations that an influential person had requested sexual services at the resort and that Ankita resisted. The identity and alleged involvement of a VIP have remained central to the continuing public controversy.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Ankita’s parents at India Gate on Wednesday, October 14, expressing support for their demand that the investigation address the alleged VIP angle before Gautam’s appointment proceeds without further scrutiny.

Anti-rape activist Yogita Bhayana, who has supported the family’s campaign, said in a post on X that more than four years had passed since the case and that Ankita’s parents had continued to seek justice, from their home to the streets.

The Congress subsequently condemned the detention of the elderly parents during the overnight sit-in. It asked the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to explain why the family’s peaceful demand for justice had resulted in police action.