By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Congress campaign against the appointment of senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor gathered momentum on Wednesday after the parents of Ankita Bhandari, the 19-year-old Uttarakhand receptionist murdered in 2022, staged a sit-in protest near India Gate in New Delhi on the issue with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joining them.
Ankita’s parents, Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi, demanded that Gautam’s appointment be put on hold until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into their daughter’s murder is completed. They also appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to intervene.
The family has raised questions about the alleged ‘VIP’ angle in the case and has demanded a thorough investigation into the identity and possible role of the person referred to as a VIP. Gautam’s name has surfaced in allegations surrounding the case, but he has not been named as an accused in the chargesheet. The allegations against him remain unproven.
Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, was murdered in September 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya and two employees were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2025.
The case returned to the political spotlight after renewed allegations concerning the unidentified VIP and the subsequent decision to appoint Gautam as Sikkim Governor.
The Congress has questioned the appointment and staged a silent dharna on the issue on Tuesday in Dehradun. The party has demanded accountability and a comprehensive investigation into all aspects of the case.
Gautam, a former BJP national general secretary and the party’s former Uttarakhand in-charge, was appointed Sikkim Governor earlier this week.
The India Gate protest has brought the family’s demand for justice to the national political stage, with the Congress seeking to keep the alleged VIP angle and the governor’s appointment in public focus.