Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

NEW DELHI: The leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has written to President of India, Draupadi Murmu, to advise the union government to reconsider the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim Governor.

Gandhi has urged the president to ask the government not to allow Gautam to take office until investigation in Ankita Bhandari murder case is completed.

He said in a related post on social media platform X on October 15 that ‘many people, including Ankita's family, believe that Dushyant Gautam is connected to this (Ankita Bhandari murder) case.

According to available case records, Ankita was a 19-year-old resort receptionist from Rishikesh in Uttarakhand who was murdered on September 18, 2022, after she refused to offer special/sexual services to a VIP guest. Her body was thrown into the Chilla canal by the accused and recovered on September 24 the same year. On May 30, 2025, a court in Kotdwar sentenced the resort owner Pulkit Arya (son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya) and two employees (Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta) to life imprisonment for the murder and conspiracy.

Gandhi’s letter to the president comes a day after he along with other Congress leaders joined Uttarakhand murder victim Ankita Bhandari’s parents at India Gate in New Delhi to protest Gautam’s appointment. Ankita’s parents and other Congress leaders were briefly detained by Delhi police from the protest site in wee hours of Friday and released. Ankita’s father then told media that if the decision on appointment of Gautam was not reconsidered within 24 hours, a larger protest would be launched.

Meanwhile, in the X post in Hindi, with attachment of the letter written to the president, Gandhi said what could be translated as “Ankita Bhandari, aged 19, refused to compromise her dignity for a VIP, which led to her murder. Even four years later, due to the CBI's sluggish investigation, the question remains: who was that VIP?

Many people, including Ankita's family, believe that Dushyant Gautam is connected to this case. In such a situation, I am stunned by his appointment as the Governor of Sikkim. While serving as Governor, no criminal proceedings can be initiated against him.

By advising the appointment of Dushyant Gautam, Prime Minister Modi has proven that he has absolutely no concern for women's safety.

I appeal to you to advise the government to reconsider this appointment and not allow Dushyant Gautam to assume office until the investigation is complete.

Do not let the hope for justice of Ankita's parents be shattered.”

(PIC COURTESY RAHUL GANDHI X ACCOUNT)