Advocates protest in Allahabad alias Prayagraj for justice to Ankita Bhandari and against appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor

On 16 October 2026, on behalf of Adhivakta Manch Allahabad, advocates held a protest against the appointment of suspected VIP Dushyant Kumar Gautam in the murder of Ankita Bhandari as the Governor of Sikkim and sent a memorandum of four demands addressed to the Hon’ble President through the Magistrate.

The advocates demanded from the Hon’ble President that the appointment of suspected VIP Dushyant Kumar Gautam to a constitutional post like Governor while the CBI investigation is pending is not only injustice to Uttarakhand’s daughter Ankita Bhandari but also a highly insensitive decision towards the women of this country. The advocates said that appointing suspected Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim in such a sensitive case undermines impartiality, public accountability and the dignity of constitutional posts. The post of Governor is a symbol of the dignity, impartiality and democratic values of the Indian Constitution. After protests by citizens across the country, the Uttarakhand government had to take the decision to get a CBI inquiry conducted in the Ankita Bhandari case, but appointing suspected Dushyant Kumar Gautam to a constitutional post like Governor while the CBI investigation is pending makes the entire investigation non-transparent, suspicious and deceitful and it appears that his appointment to the post of Governor is being done only to save him from the CBI investigation. Therefore, the advocates have demanded from the Hon’ble President that the decision to make Dushyant Kumar Gautam the Governor of Sikkim be reconsidered and cancelled and that a fair, time-bound, independent and transparent investigation of the alleged VIP connected to the Ankita Bhandari murder case be ensured, along with giving top priority to purity of public trust and institutional dignity with regard to appointment to constitutional posts and keeping suspected persons who commit crimes against women away from such posts.

The advocates fully supported the demand for justice for Ankita Bhandari by her parents and said that forcibly removing Ankita Bhandari’s parents when they were staging a dharna in Delhi demanding justice is a blot on democracy. The advocates also appealed to deal with them sympathetically and accept their demands.

The meeting held during this time was addressed by advocates Hriday Lal Maurya, Nitesh Kumar, Kumari Priya, Ms. Lubna, Hridayesh Yadav, Joint Secretary Press of High Court Bar Association Kapil Dev Yadav, Prashant, Nand Lal Gupt, Ghanshyam Maurya etc. The meeting was conducted by co-convenor of the Manch Mohd Saeed Siddiqui. During this, a large number of advocates including Prabal Pratap, Charlie Prakash, senior advocate K K Rai, Yashwant, Pramod Kumar Gupt, Wahaj Ahmed Siddiqui, Parvez, Shadab, Pushpraj, convenor of the Manch Rajvendra Singh were present.

By Charlie Advocate