Several socio political organisations including Congress protest on the ocassion id fourth death anniversary of Ankita Bhandari at Dehradun
Several political and social organisations inclding the Congress party,Uttarakhand Mahila Manch and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal , ( Democratic) today protested in Dehradun demanding exposure of the CBI probe into Ankita Bhandari case bringing the real culprit VIP to law book and under the parameters of CBI investigation including the MLA of Vanantara resort who illegally demolished the room to allegedly destroy the important evidences. The protestors in thousands holding placards were raising the anti BJP government slogans expressing their anger over the alleged protection of the VIP in Ankita Bhandari case.
According to the former Congress chief of Uttarakhand Katan Maharashtra leading the Congress protest demonstration under the scorching heat four our years after the brutal murder of Uttarakhand’s daughter Ankita Bhandari, the wounds have not healed and the questions surrounding the case remain unanswered, with demands growing louder for complete justice beyond the conviction of the three main accused.
On the fourth death anniversary of Ankita, public anger has resurfaced over what many describe as incomplete justice.
While a court has sentenced the three prime accused, the family and a large section of the state believe that the full truth behind the murder is yet to come out. Key questions continue to haunt the case — who was the alleged VIP for whom Ankita was being pressured to provide “extra service,” what was the influence behind her murder, and why was a bulldozer run at the crime scene raising apprehensions of destruction of crucial evidence.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is facing direct questions from the people of the state over the alleged VIP angle. Critics are asking why in four years his government has not been able to clarify the name and the actual role of the alleged VIP. They are questioning whether the person is so influential that the entire government remains silent on his name and whether his political reach is so strong that his identity is being protected behind the walls of power even after the murder of a daughter. The demand is that if there was no VIP in the investigation, then every fact, statement and conclusion related to it should be placed before the public with full transparency, as press conferences, government statements and political clarifications alone will not satisfy the people of Uttarakhand who are seeking proof, not speeches, and complete truth, not assurances.
The messages sent by Ankita to her friend, in which she mentioned pressure from an alleged VIP and demand for extra service, are being cited as pointing towards a disturbing system in which a daughter of an ordinary family was being pressured to fulfil the wishes of an influential person. It is alleged that when Ankita refused to compromise on her dignity, she had to lose her life. Every daughter of Uttarakhand wants to know who was behind the criminals who pressurised Ankita and for whom an attempt was made to crush her dignity, and avoiding this question is being termed not just a political failure but a betrayal of the trust of the daughters of the state.
Questions are also being raised on the bulldozer action at Vanantra Resort. It is being asked on whose orders the bulldozer was run at the resort when it was the main scene of crime, why there was such haste to demolish its part before the investigation was completed, and why the place was not sealed and every piece of evidence secured. The demand includes disclosing which officer took the decision to run the bulldozer before forensic examination, which leader gave instructions, at what level permission was granted, whether those who operated the bulldozer were strictly interrogated, whether their phone records, mutual conversations and chain of orders were investigated, and if the government’s intent was clean, why the entire file and orders related to the bulldozer action have not been made public till date.
Critics allege that while the Dhami government has made the bulldozer a symbol of its political branding, the bulldozer that ran in the Ankita murder case has become the biggest question mark on the government’s accountability, and whether the government ensured justice or made the path to justice difficult by running a bulldozer at the crime scene is a question that is still alive. It is being argued that haste shown in front of television cameras cannot be called justice and that justice means securing evidence, conducting impartial investigation into the role of every person and reaching the last link of the crime, and if there is apprehension of destruction of important evidence due to any action, fixing accountability for it is also an essential part of justice.
Allegations of initial insensitivity of the system have also resurfaced, with claims that when a daughter was missing and her family was searching for her, the administrative machinery did not show the promptness that should have been shown, and though the government did show speed after the matter came to light, the process of justice does not run on show and publicity. Even today Ankita’s parents have to seek answers to their questions. The opposition is questioning that if the Chief Minister truly understands the pain of a father and the tears of a mother, the family would not have had to struggle for justice for four years.
It is being pointed out that while in speeches daughters of Uttarakhand are safe, in advertisements law and order is strong and in hoardings the government is sensitive, the government has not been able to give complete justice when seen through the eyes of Ankita’s parents, and a mother’s question cannot be suppressed by crores of rupees of government branding. Big posters, self-praising advertisements and building a “Dhakad” image will not expose the alleged VIP, and the real strength of a Chief Minister is shown not in publicity but in taking impartial action against influential people connected to his own power system.
The BJP government’s slogan of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao has been accused of being made a medium of political propaganda, but when it came to getting justice for Uttarakhand’s daughter, the government was seen doing political defence instead of sensitivity, and questions are being raised as to why leaders who talk about women’s honour from BJP platforms become silent on Ankita’s alleged VIP question. It is being argued that respect for daughters is not only in speeches, advertisements and election slogans but is proved when the government takes action against the culprit without seeing his political identity, social status and connection with power.
The government has repeatedly tried to show that after the three criminals were punished the whole matter ended, but Uttarakhand is not ready to consider this case as a closed chapter. Punishing those who committed murder was necessary, but reaching the last link of the circumstances of the murder, the alleged VIP, the pressure mechanism and the apprehensions of damage to evidence is equally important. Justice is not limited only to the court’s decision; justice is complete when every truth related to the crime comes out, every responsible person is identified and protection of power does not help any accused.
A clear demand has been made from the Dhami government that if there is nothing to hide, why is the government afraid of making the entire investigation report public, to place the findings related to the alleged VIP before the public, to make public the written orders for running bulldozers at the resort, to disclose whose responsibility was fixed for negligence in securing the crime scene and what action was taken on the questions continuously raised by Ankita’s parents. The people of Uttarakhand will no longer accept half-baked answers and roundabout government statements.
The murder case has exposed that political and administrative system of Uttarakhand in which the life and honour of a daughter of a common family is considered weak in front of influential people sitting close to power. This incident is not just a tragedy of one family but a collective pain of the entire state. Ankita was a daughter of the hills who chose to live with self-respect despite poverty and difficult circumstances. She had gone to work, to build her future, but people immersed in power and money crushed her dreams.
Ankita refused to bow before pressure and struggled till the last moment to protect her honour. Her courage is an inspiration for every daughter of Uttarakhand and a question for power from which it can never escape. Even though Ankita is not among us today, her voice is alive in the rivers, mountains and consciousness of Uttarakhand, asking what was her crime, why did saving her honour cost her life, who demanded alleged extra service for her, who was that alleged VIP, on whose orders did the bulldozer run at her workplace and when will her parents get the complete truth.
On her fourth death anniversary, while paying tribute to Ankita, the demand for complete justice is being raised again with a clear call that the entire truth related to the alleged VIP should be made public, responsibility of those who ordered and operated bulldozers at Vanantra resort should be fixed, impartial investigation should be done into apprehensions of damage to evidence and every influential person directly or indirectly connected with this crime should be brought to the dock. The assertion is that Ankita is not just a name but the voice of Uttarakhand’s self-respect and women’s honour which cannot be suppressed by government advertisements, political pressure or arrogance of power, and that the struggle will continue until every question is answered, the whole truth comes out and Ankita’s parents say that they have got complete justice.
