Former Uttarakhand In-Charge Dushyant Gautam Appointed Governor of Sikkim Amid Ankita Bhandari VIP Row
New Delhi, October 12: In exciting news for BJP supporters and admirers of former Uttarakhand BJP in-charge and former National General Secretary Dushyant Gautam, the BJP’s Dalit face has been elevated to the post of Governor of Sikkim.
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday announced a major gubernatorial reshuffle for six states. Om Prakash Mathur, currently Governor of Sikkim has been appointed as Governor of Kerala, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, while Braj Mohan Ram has been appointed Governor of Odisha, Dr. Sudha Yadav as Governor of Karnataka, Dr. Dhal Singh Bisen as Governor of Uttarakhand and Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. The appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge.
For his supporters, it is a comeback. Gautam, who started as a councillor from Vasant Vihar, later became MLA from Narela, then contested from Karol Bagh, was Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana and National General Secretary of BJP, was considered a super boss in Uttarakhand as state in-charge.
But his political career in the hill state became controversial after his name cropped up in rumours as the alleged VIP in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.
It may be recalled that 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari of Pauri Garhwal, who worked as receptionist at Vanantara resort in Yamkeshwar block, Rishikesh, was brutally killed in September 2022 after she allegedly refused to provide extra service to a VIP. Her body was thrown in the Chila canal in Rishikesh, sparking statewide outrage demanding arrest of the VIP.
The VIP angle resurfaced with a sensation in December 2025, when an actress and second wife of Haridwar BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, Urmila Sanawar, released an audio on social media. In the clips, Dushyant Gautam was purportedly identified by Rathore as the VIP at the resort where Ankita used to work.
After tremendous controversy, protest demonstrations and dharnas in Uttarakhand and Delhi, demands grew for a CBI probe. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami faced pressure to recommend a CBI inquiry to nail the actual VIP, with Ankita’s traumatised parents and protesters demanding that Gautam be summoned for questioning, as his name was revealed by his old party colleague Rathore in a conversation recorded by his second wife.
Gautam has categorically denied the charge, terming it misleading and malicious propaganda and said he would retire from public life if proven guilty. He has filed a defamation case.
The official agencies have not backed the allegation. Uttarakhand Police has categorically stated that there is no involvement of any VIP whatsoever in the Ankita Bhandari case.
The Delhi High Court also found the posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Gautam to the Ankita Bhandari murder case to be “prima facie defamatory” and baseless, noting there was no evidence in the FIR or charge sheet connecting him to the crime.
Pulkit Arya, owner of Vanantara resort and son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, along with two staffers Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were arrested within hours and are serving life term after conviction by a Kotdwar court in May this year.
With his appointment as Sikkim Governor, the BJP has rewarded its long-time organization man despite the shadow of the Ankita case continuing to be raised by the opposition.
