Ankita Bhandari murder case: FIR over viral video naming Dushyant Gautam as ‘VIP’

Dehradun: Police have registered an FIR in Dehradun against Saharanpur resident Urmila Sanawar and former BJP MLA from Jwalapur in Haridwar, Suresh Rathore, over a viral video linked to the Ankita Bhandari murder case.

The case was lodged at Nehru Colony police station on a complaint by Aarti Gaur, a former district panchayat member, who alleged that the viral content carried baseless and defamatory claims aimed at tarnishing her image, officials said.

Police said the FIR has been registered under Section 67 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, and Sections 308(7), 351(2), 352 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The FIR comes amid a fresh political flare-up in Uttarakhand after Sanawar, who claims to be Rathore’s wife, made new allegations on social media about the “VIP” angle in the 2022 murder.

In videos and audio clips circulating online, Sanawar has claimed that the unnamed “VIP guest” referred to in the case was Dushyant Gautam, a Rajya Sabha MP, BJP national general secretary and the party’s Uttarakhand in-charge. 

The clips also allege the VIP was present at the resort on the night of the incident and that Ankita faced pressure to provide “special services”. 

These claims have not been independently verified.

The Congress has seized on the allegations and demanded a CBI probe, with leaders alleging a cover-up and evidence tampering. 

Congress leaders have sought a CBI inquiry under the supervision of a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge. The party has also cited the demolition of parts of the resort after the murder as a factor requiring scrutiny.

Protests have been reported in several places, including Dehradun, Haldwani, and Rishikesh, with demonstrators burning effigies and demanding that the identity of the “VIP” be made public and the full chain of responsibility fixed.

The BJP has hit back, calling the allegations unverified. 

Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt accused the Congress of using viral audio-video clips for politics and said such claims insult the victim and the Scheduled Caste community.

Rathore has rejected the viral audio clips as fabricated, alleging they were created using AI. He has also filed a police complaint against Sanawar, describing the allegations as a personal conspiracy to defame him.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, a resident of Pauri Garhwal, was working as a receptionist at the Vanantara Resort in Yamkeshwar when she went missing in September 2022. 

Her body was later recovered from a canal near Rishikesh. Investigators had said she was killed after refusing demands to provide sexual services to guests.

In May 2025, a court in Kotdwar sentenced resort operator Pulkit Arya and two associates to life imprisonment in the case. Pulkit Arya is the son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader who was expelled after the case surfaced.