Ankita Bhandari murder: Why 19-yr-old’s parents are protesting the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim

Amid the widespread protests occurring in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a husband and wife staged a demonstration at India Gate, demanding justice for their dead daughter. This couple is none other than the parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022. The teenager's parents gathered at India Gate to protest BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor. Ankita’s father, Virendra Bhandari, even appealed to President Droupadi Murmu to withhold Gautam’s appointment until an investigation is conducted. In the wee hours of Thursday, Ankita’s parents were then joined by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra along with other Congress members. Shortly later, around 4 am, the Delhi Police swooped in and detained Ankita’s parents and several opposition leaders. They were later released an hour later. But why are Ankita Bhandari’s parents staging a demonstration against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor? We get you the answers. The Ankita Bhandari murder case The protests by Ankita Bhandari’s parents date back to the teen’s murder in 2022. Nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort near Rishikesh. On September 18, she was killed, and her body was recovered from a canal six days later. During investigations, it was revealed that Ankita had been pressured to provide sexual services to guests, which she opposed. She had even revealed to her friend, Pushp, that she was being pressured by the owner of the resort to “provide special services for a VIP” in exchange for Rs 10,000. Nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari went missing from her place of work on September 18. Six days later, her body was found from a canal in Uttarakhand. File image/News18 Hindi The police noted that on September 18 (the night of her death), an altercation occurred between Ankita and her employer, Pulkit Arya, the son of a senior BJP leader, along with his two staff members, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit…