Haridwar / Dehradun
The Ankita Bhandari murder case has taken a dramatic turn and twist with the arrest of actress Urmila Sanawar, who was extremely vocal about an alleged VIP link in the case, just a day before she was to appear again before the Special CBI Court in Dehradun for the legal process of her narco-analysis test.
Haridwar Police arrested Urmila Sanawar on Sunday from her residence in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on the basis of a complaint filed by Deepika Rathore, daughter of former BJP MLA from Jwalapur, Suresh Rathore.
According to the complaint, Sanawar demanded that the ownership of ‘Ravidas Peeth / Ravidas Dham’ be transferred to her name and when the demand was not met, she allegedly sought Rs 5 crore through extortion and threatened to kill the family and circulate photographs and videos on social media.
Haridwar SP City Deepak Singh confirmed the sequence, stating: “Deepika Rathore filed a written complaint at Ranipur Police Station on the night of 24 October, against Urmila Sanawar for obscene and derogatory remarks on social media, damage to her family’s reputation and attempts to transfer Ravidas Dham property into the accused’s name in connection with Rs 5 crore. Given the sensitivity of the case, the Haridwar SSP formed a team, which arrested Urmila Sanawar in Saharanpur. Nine cases had previously been registered against the accused, who has been produced before a magistrate for judicial custody.”
Police said the case has been registered under sections 308(5)(7), 79, 356(3), 356(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and 4/10 of the Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986. The police team led by Inspector-in-Charge Manohar Singh Bhandari also seized her mobile phone and a CCTV DVR from the residence.
According to the news reports this is the second time Deepika Rathore has filed an almost identical FIR against Urmila Sanawar. A similar complaint with the same complainant, same accused and same allegations – obscene social media posts, defamation and demand of Ravidas Peeth property – was also registered in 2025, in which a Non-Bailable Warrant was issued but Urmila remained out.
This time, the police action was unusually swift: FIR at night, arrest by morning, production before the Haridwar magistrate by evening and judicial custody by night. Urmila has been produced before the Haridwar court and police demanded 14 days judicial custody. Police officials said the arrest was made within 12 hours of the complaint being filed.
The swift action has raised public debate as Urmila was scheduled to appear before the CBI court in Dehradun on October 26 for the next hearing on narco-analysis and polygraph tests in the Ankita Bhandari case. On October 23, she and former MLA Suresh Rathore had given their voluntary consent for the tests before the CBI court. The CBI is probing the authenticity of a viral audio clip released by Urmila which she claimed points to the role of a powerful VIP in the 2022 murder of 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Bhandari at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh.
While the Ranipur extortion case is legally separate from the CBI’s VIP angle probe, the fact that the actress who has been demanding a narco test of the alleged VIP was sent to jail a day before her own narco procedure is to move forward has led to questions in political and social circles about who is afraid of the narco test and whom the move is intended to protect.
Police have stated that as per records, nine cases had already been registered against Urmila Sanawar earlier, and the current investigation will follow due legal process.
