BJP leader urges govt to remove video implying his involvement in Ankita Bhandari murder

Dehradun, Dec 25 (PTI) BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam on Thursday urged the state government to order the removal of certain audio and video content on social media implicating him in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, calling them an attempt to malign his image.

The party affairs in-charge in Uttarakhand made the request in a letter to Uttarakhand Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli.

"I request you to instruct the social media platforms and news channels involved to remove such material and prevent the dissemination of such material directly or indirectly," he wrote.

Gautam also submitted a list of social media and news channels that he said made "false and malicious" allegations against him with the intention of "tarnishing and damaging his reputation." "Recently, it has come to my knowledge that under a criminal conspiracy, some unscrupulous criminal elements have created a fake and fabricated audio recording, and to further this, they are circulating such hateful, malicious, and false material on media and social media," the BJP national general secretary said.

The controversy stems from a viral video and an alleged audio conversation of a woman named Urmila Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former MLA Suresh Rathore from Haridwar's Jwalapur.

In the video, Sanawar alleged that a person named 'Gattu' was involved in the murder of Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at a resort who was murdered in 2022 by her employer over refusal to render sexual favours.

The Congress has demanded a CBI inquiry into the fresh allegations under the supervision of a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court.

The BJP, which is at the receiving end of the allegation, called Sanawar a woman involved in questionable social activities.

BJP's Suresh Rathore earlier dismissed the video as AI-generated. PTI DPT VN VN