By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The parents of Ankita Bhandari on Friday met senior officials at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in New Delhi amid a growing political controversy over the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the new Governor of Sikkim.
In a statement issued on Friday, the CBI said Ankita’s father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, and mother, Soni Devi, met senior officials at its headquarters and provided information on different aspects of the case. The agency said its officials assured the family that the investigation would examine all aspects of the case and be conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
The meeting comes amid renewed public and political attention to the murder case following Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor. Opposition parties in Uttarakhand have protested against the appointment, citing allegations and claims surrounding the case and demanding justice for Ankita. The allegations relating to Gautam have not, by themselves, established his involvement in the crime. BJP leader Anil Baluni was also present.
Ankita, a 19-year-old receptionist at Vanantra resort near Rishikesh, was murdered in September 2022. Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal, and the case triggered widespread outrage across Uttarakhand. Three persons including the resort’s owner Pulkit Arya have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Ankita.
The controversy has centred in part on demands for a thorough investigation into allegations concerning a purported “VIP” linked to the case. Ankita’s family and political leaders have repeatedly called for clarity and accountability.