Ankita Bhandari’s parents released by Delhi Police hours after detention during India Gate protest
Delhi Police detained Ankita Bhandari’s parents and several Congress leaders during an India Gate protest demanding justice and opposing Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor amid calls for a CBI investigation.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsDelhi Police released the parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari hours after detaining them near India Gate. They were released around 5 am on Thursday. All those detained were subsequently released, while the Congress accused Delhi Police of manhandling protesters who had assembled to demand justice in the 2022 murder case.
Delhi Police detained Bhandari's parents and several opposition leaders during a sit-in protest at India Gate in the early hours of Thursday. The detentions took place around 4 am.
Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate, Pawan Khera and Kazi Nizamuddin criticised the police action, accusing the authorities of targeting those seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari and questioning the alleged proposed appointment of Dushyant Gautam.
“The police are detaining women protesters. The way they are manhandling MPs while detaining them is extremely shameful. The government must understand that the tears of Ankita Bhandari’s parents will cost it dearly,” a protester said, news agency ANI reported.
Congress MP Pawan Khera alleged that the police action indicated a decline in democratic freedoms. “This is brutality. You can see democracy coming to an end at India Gate. It is ending at 4 am,” he said.
Targeting newly appointed Sikkim Governor Dushyant Gautam, Khera further alleged that those protesting against the accused were being detained, while the person facing allegations could be appointed to a constitutional position.
Khera said, "Barbarity is happening in this country. The one who has been accused will become the governor, and Ankita's parents will go to jail? We are protesting against rapists, so we will go to jail, and the one who has been accused of rape will become the governor—this is democracy."
The protesters demanded that Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Governor be cancelled amid the investigation into the alleged VIP angle in the case.
Qazi Nizamuddin, AICC in-charge of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and an MLA, also criticised the police action, alleging that the authorities should be acting against Dushyant Gautam rather than detaining Ankita Bhandari’s parents.
Earlier on Wednesday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met the parents of late Ankita Bhandari during their sit-in protest at India Gate.
The grieving family staged the protest against the recent appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor, citing alleged links to the case and demanding that his appointment be put on hold pending a central investigation.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the government's decision, Ankita's father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, called for legal accountability and urged the President to withhold Gautam's appointment until the CBI probe is completed. “Dushyant Kumar should be behind bars. I earnestly request the Honourable President not to appoint Dushyant Kumar as Governor until the CBI investigation is concluded,” he said.
Ankita Bhandari was murdered on September 18, 2022, and her body was recovered from the Chilla Canal on September 24, 2022.
Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two resort staff members, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were arrested and chargesheeted in the case. On May 30, 2025, Additional District Judge Reena Negi sentenced all three to life imprisonment in Kotdwar for murder, destruction of evidence and other offences.
With inputs from ANI...
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world news on Zee News.