By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Congress on Tuesday held a silent protest in Dehradun against the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim Governor, alleging that the move could shield him from scrutiny in the ongoing CBI investigation into the alleged VIP link in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case.
Led by Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal, party leaders and workers gathered at Gandhi Park and staged a sit-in at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. Holding placards bearing slogans such as “Save daughters from the BJP”, they demanded a reconsideration of Gautam’s appointment and a time-bound, impartial investigation into the alleged VIP’s role in the case.
Godiyal alleged that Ankita’s parents had sought a CBI investigation to establish whether the person referred to as the alleged VIP was involved in the murder. Instead, he claimed, the appointment of Gautam as Governor had given the individual concerned a “safe passage”.
The Congress leader accused the Centre of disregarding public sentiment in Uttarakhand and said his party would continue its agitation until the questions surrounding the alleged VIP were satisfactorily answered.
He urged both the central and state governments to expedite the CBI investigation and ensure that it proceeded impartially.
Ankita, 19, worked as a receptionist at the Vanantara resort near Rishikesh. She was murdered on September 18, 2022, by resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta. Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later. All three men were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.
The alleged VIP angle resurfaced in December last year after audio clips purportedly featuring former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and actress Urmila Sanawar, who claimed to be his wife, circulated on social media.
Following protests by political and social organisations, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Ankita’s parents in January this year and recommended a CBI investigation into the case.