Senior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials have met with the parents of Ankita Bhandari, the 19-year-old resort receptionist murdered in 2022 near Rishikesh, assuring them of an impartial and thorough probe into the alleged involvement of an unidentified “VIP.”
Key Highlights & High-Level Meeting
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CBI Delegation & Meeting: Ankita’s parents—father Virendra Singh Bhandari and mother Soni Devi—met with senior agency leaders, including Special Directors Manoj Shashidhar and Sampat Meena, at the CBI Headquarters in New Delhi.
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Political Presence: Garhwal MP and BJP leader Anil Baluni accompanied the victim’s family during the meeting.
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Official Commitment: CBI leadership assured the parents that all aspects of the case—including claims of suppressed or destroyed evidence—will be thoroughly examined without bias.
Background & Probe Context
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Prior Convictions: Ankita Bhandari was murdered in 2022 while working at the Vanantra Resort in Pauri, Uttarakhand. Resort owner Pulkit Arya and two employees were subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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Fresh CBI Case & Trigger: Following widespread public demand, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI investigation after viral audio and video recordings surfaced. Released by Urmila Sanawar (an actress claiming to be a legislator’s wife), the clips allegedly point to a powerful, unidentified “VIP” connected to the crime.
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Formal FIR Registered: The CBI officially registered an FIR against unknown persons to examine whether key evidence was concealed or destroyed to protect influential individuals.
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Demand for Narco Tests: Ankita’s parents submitted a written request to the CBI Director seeking a narco-analysis test on former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and Urmila Sanawar regarding the viral audio references.
