Delhi Police released the parents of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari hours after detaining them near India Gate. They were released around 5 am on Thursday. All those detained were subsequently released, while the Congress accused Delhi Police of manhandling protesters who had assembled to demand justice in the 2022 murder case.
The government must understand that the tears of Ankita Bhandari’s parents will cost it dearly,” a protester said, news agency ANI reported. Delhi Police detained Bhandari’s parents and several opposition leaders during a sit-in protest at India Gate in the early hours of Thursday. Congress leaders Supriya Shrinate, Pawan Khera and Kazi Nizamuddin criticised the police action, accusing the authorities of targeting those seeking justice for Ankita Bhandari and questioning the alleged proposed appointment of Dushyant Gautam. “The police are detaining women protesters. The way they are manhandling MPs while detaining them is extremely shameful. Congress MP Pawan Khera alleged that the police action indicated a decline in democratic freedoms. “This is brutality. You can see democracy coming to an end at India Gate. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two resort staff members, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were arrested and chargesheeted in the case.
The detentions took place around 4 am. It is ending at 4 am,” he said. On May 30, 2025, Additional District Judge Reena Negi sentenced all three to life imprisonment in Kotdwar for murder, destruction of evidence and other offences.
The protesters demanded that Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Governor be cancelled amid the investigation into the alleged VIP angle in the case. The grieving family staged the protest against the recent appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor, citing alleged links to the case and demanding that his appointment be put on hold pending a central investigation.
