New Delhi, August 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday invoked the 2022 murder of Uttarakhand receptionist Ankita Bhandari to call for greater safety, equality and justice for women, while criticising what he described as a system that protects influential people.
Gandhi said he met Bhandari’s family two days ago and claimed that they were still waiting for justice nearly four years after her death.
“Ankita, just 19 years old, was a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort where she was murdered by being drowned in the Chilla canal after resisting the shameful demands of a ‘VIP’ guest,” Gandhi said in a post on X, which also included a photograph with the victim’s family. He said the postmortem report recorded evidence of violence and drowning.
Gandhi also questioned the demolition of Ankita’s room at the resort before an investigation could be carried out and alleged that the state government had continued to protect the unidentified “VIP” referred to in the case.
He said India could progress only when women moved forward with “respect, safety, equality, and justice” and called for an end to the mindset that treats women as objects for men’s use.
Ankita was killed on September 18, 2022, triggering widespread protests and outrage across Uttarakhand. Her body was recovered from the Chilla Shakti Canal nearly a week later.
A Special Investigation Team conducted an extensive probe and filed a 500-page charge sheet naming 97 witnesses, of whom 47 subsequently testified before the court. The case was later taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Vanantra Resort owner and prime accused Pulkit Arya, along with co-accused Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were convicted by a trial court in Kotdwar on May 30, 2025, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Arya was convicted under charges including murder, tampering with evidence, harassment and immoral trafficking. The convicts have challenged their sentences before the Uttarakhand High Court.
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