ANKITA’S PARENTS FORCIBLY LIFTED FROM GANDHI SAMADHI: Mother Faints, Father Dragged Into Police Van As Peaceful Dharna Ends In Tears

Sunil Negi, Editor UKnationnews
New Delhi, November 4, 2026

In yet another heart-wrenching episode in the four-year-long fight for justice for Ankita Bhandari, her aged parents – Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi – were forcibly lifted by Delhi Police on Wednesday from Gandhi Samadhi, Rajghat, where they were sitting peacefully on a silent dharna demanding justice for their brutally murdered daughter and action against the alleged VIP.

The parents, along with activist Yogita Bhayana, were staging a ‘maun vrat’ – silent protest – at Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, seeking removal of Sikkim Governor Dushyant Kumar Gautam and a complete CBI probe into the alleged VIP angle in their daughter’s murder in 2022 .

According to videos posted by activist Yogita Bhayana and eyewitnesses, Delhi Police personnel forcibly removed the elderly couple from the site.

Bhayana wrote on X: _”Ankita Bhandari’s mother faints at Rajghat after being dragged by Delhi Police. Instead of taking her to hospital police are driving her in circles.”_

In the video, Ankita’s father Virendra Singh Bhandari is seen being dragged and shoved into a police van. His wife Soni Devi collapsed and fainted during the police action.

Bhayana further alleged that after Soni Devi fainted, police delayed taking her to hospital and took her nearly 16 kilometers away to Burari Hospital.

Reacting to the video, Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib wrote: _”He lost his daughter. Now he’s being dragged by Delhi Police and shoved into a police van at Rajghat. Ankita Bhandari’s father isn’t a criminal. He’s a father begging for justice.”_

Delhi Police sources said the parents were not detained, but only removed because Rajghat is not a designated protest site.

Police have maintained the same line in earlier protests – that action was taken as per law as the site is not earmarked for dharna.

The parents have not been shown as arrested in police records for Wednesday’s incident.

The parents have been demanding:

Removal / revocation of appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor,
Completion of CBI probe into the alleged VIP angle before Gautam assumes immunity under Article 361, Narco-analysis tests on former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and actor Urmila Sanawar, whose viral audio clip allegedly named Gautam as the VIP “Gattu”, CBI probe under supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, worked as a receptionist at Vanantara Resort near Rishikesh. She was killed on September 18, 2022, allegedly after refusing to provide “special services” to a VIP guest. Her body was recovered from the Chilla Canal six days later.

Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Kotdwar court in May 2025.

The family alleges Dushyant Gautam is the VIP. Gautam has denied the allegations, has filed defamation cases, and the allegations have not been established in court. The Uttarakhand SIT had earlier said it found no evidence of VIP involvement. The CBI took over the case in February 2026 after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a probe on January 9, 2026.

Gautam was sworn in as the 19th Governor of Sikkim on October 19, 2026, despite the parents’ plea to President Droupadi Murmu to withhold the appointment till the CBI probe is complete.

This is the second time in less than a month that the parents have been forcibly removed from a peaceful protest in Delhi:

The parents, who had been sitting since morning along with Yogita Bhayana, were forcibly lifted at 4 AM. Soni Devi was crying inconsolably and pleading for justice while being taken away. They were released at 5 AM. The action came just hours after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met the parents at India Gate and assured full support.

November 4, Rajghat. Again removed from Gandhi Samadhi during silent dharna. Mother fainted.

Reaction: Outrage Across Uttarakhand

The visuals of an old father being dragged and a mother fainting at Bapu’s Samadhi – the symbol of non-violence and peaceful protest – have gone viral, sparking fresh outrage in Uttarakhand and across the country.

Congress leaders have called it “brutality” and “murder of democracy at 4 AM and now at Gandhi Samadhi”. Activists say if grieving parents cannot sit silently even at Rajghat, where in this democracy can they seek justice?

The mother of Ankita have repeatedly said: “Main haar nahi manungi. The worst the government can do is kill us.”

The Question That Remains Unanswered

Four years after Ankita’s brutal murder, three convicts are in jail for life. But the one question that haunts Uttarakhand remains unanswered:

Who was the VIP for whom Ankita was allegedly pressured, and why has the VIP not been brought to justice?

Till the CBI answers this, the parents say, their dharna will continue – whether at India Gate, at Rajghat, or at their own home.