Comprehensive Story: Fresh Protest at India Gate Today as CBI Questions Ex-MLA in Ankita Bhandari Case, Actress Demands Open Interrogation

SUNIL NEGI

New Delhi / Haridwar:

Nearly a week after the midnight detention of Ankita Bhandari’s parents from India Gate, the case has seen two major developments – a fresh protest demonstration at India Gate today, Sunday 18 October 2026, and a sudden intensification of the CBI probe with the questioning of former Jwalapur MLA Suresh Rathore in Haridwar.

Fresh Protest at India Gate Today

Organizers started a demonstration near India Gate this morning as the entire area was barricaded by Delhi Police. The protesters were holding placards demanding revocation of the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim and justice for Ankita.

The call for the protest has been given by various student organizations, women’s groups, Uttarakhand associations in Delhi and Congress-backed organizations, days after Ankita’s parents sat on a dharna at India Gate on October 14 and were detained around 4 AM on October 15.

Several prominent social activists like CPI (ML) leader Comrade Indresh Maikhuri, Mohit Dimri, Trilochan Bhatt and others had come to Delhi and participated in this protest demonstration. The protestors were arrested and taken to the nearby police station. They were raising slogans demanding Justice for Ankita and Revocation of Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Governor.

A striking feature of today’s protest was that there was not a single BJP Uttarakhandi activist or leader in this demonstration who are otherwise garlanded and lauded at Garhwal Bhawan by its office bearers praising them. The moot point is, if they can’t stand with their community in this just cause seeking justice for an Uttarakhand’s sister or daughter Ankita then what for they are garlanded and lauded by the biggest representative Sanstha of Garhwalies in Delhi? They should answer this question. Can’t they be asked as to why these leaders are skipping from such protests. Aren’t they completely exposed now for their double standards?

Background: Parents’ Dharna, Rahul-Priyanka Meet and Midnight Detention

On October 14, Ankita’s father Virendra Singh Bhandari and mother Soni Devi sat on a dharna at India Gate seeking a meeting with the President to demand that Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment be put on hold till the CBI probe is complete.

Hundreds of Congress workers along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined them. Rahul and Priyanka were seen hugging and consoling the parents.

Hours later, around 4 AM on October 15, Delhi Police detained the parents and took them to Tilak Marg Police Station. Several Congress leaders were also detained. They were released around 5 AM. Rahul Gandhi condemned the detention, calling it the hallmark of the government to silence victims. He has written to President Droupadi Murmu to reconsider the appointment.

A day after the dharna, Garhwal MP Anil Baluni accompanied the parents to meet CBI Director and Special Directors Manoj Shashidhar and Sampat Meena in Delhi, presenting a memorandum demanding narco tests on Rathore and others to reveal the identity of the VIP.

CBI Raid and Questioning in Haridwar

This memorandum triggered sudden action. According to officials, CBI sleuths on Saturday morning raided Rathore’s Haridwar residence to recover material important to the probe, including his mobile phone, and then took him to the BHEL Guest House, also referred to as Shivalik Guest House in Haridwar, for interrogation. Around three CBI teams are conducting investigations at different locations in Haridwar. The agency has not yet issued an official statement.

The action is based on new facts that emerged last December after a video of actress Urmila Sanawar surfaced, followed by an audio clip purportedly of former MLA Suresh Rathore that went viral on social media. The audio clip allegedly discussed VIP connections and also implicated a senior leader, naming Dushyant Kumar Gautam and Ajay Kumar. Based on this, the CBI has now registered a separate case against unknown persons to probe the alleged role of a VIP.

After nearly three hours of questioning on Saturday, Rathore told media that he has extended full cooperation. “I cooperated with the investigation – nothing more, nothing less. I have shared everything relevant to the investigation and will continue to do so. As for Urmila Sanawar, I know nothing about her. I have no idea who she is,” he said.

Urmila Sanawar’s Demand for Open Interrogation

Meanwhile, Sanawar in her latest video said she should be interrogated by the CBI in the presence of a few journalists because the probe is not being conducted under the supervision of a retired judge or a senior judge of the Supreme Court, as demanded by the victim’s family. She said she has no faith that the investigation will remain transparent unless it is either monitored by the apex court or her questioning is done openly before the press.

Ankita’s parents had earlier demanded a CBI inquiry under the monitoring of a Supreme Court judge. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had recommended a CBI probe on January 9, 2026 after Sanawar, who claims to be the second wife of Rathore, released videos and audio recordings alleging the involvement of a VIP.

The Demands of the Protestors:

1. Immediate cancellation / deferment of oath of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim till the CBI investigation into the VIP angle in Ankita Bhandari case is complete and his statement is recorded.

2. Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe and narco-analysis tests on former MLA Suresh Rathore, Yamkeshwar MLA Renu Bisht who had allegedly brought the bulldozer and got the room in Vanantra resort demolished with the aim to destroy evidence, and actress Urmila Sanawar whose audio-video clips have brought new facts in the case.

3. Action against Delhi Police for the 4 AM detention of Ankita’s parents Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi from a peaceful sit-in at India Gate on October 15.

Ankita Bhandari, 19, working as a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was murdered on September 18, 2022 allegedly after refusing to provide extra services to a VIP guest. Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two staff members Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were arrested within 24 hours and sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment on May 30, 2025 by the Kotdwar court.