Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist at the Vanantra resort in Yamkeshwar, Pauri Garhwal district, went missing on 18 September 2022. Her body was pulled from the Chilla canal near Rishikesh on 24 September, and the resort's owner Pulkit Arya, son of a BJP leader, was arrested with two employees. Protests, arson and highway blockades followed, and a Kotdwar court sentenced all three to life imprisonment on 30 May 2025. Fresh claims about an unnamed "VIP" brought crowds back onto the streets in January 2026. The state then recommended a CBI probe, and the CBI registered a case in February 2026.
Key takeaways
- Ankita Bhandari, 19, a receptionist at the Vanantra resort near Rishikesh, went missing on 18 September 2022. Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal on 24 September.
- Resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were arrested. The BJP expelled Pulkit's father, former minister Vinod Arya, and his brother Ankit Arya.
- Parts of the resort were bulldozed on 23 September on the Chief Minister's orders. The family and the opposition say this destroyed evidence; police said evidence had already been collected.
- The Uttarakhand High Court refused a CBI probe in December 2022, saying it was satisfied with the SIT probe.
- A Kotdwar court convicted the three men on 30 May 2025 and sentenced them to life. Her parents said they would appeal for the death penalty.
- In January 2026 renewed "VIP" allegations led to mass protests and a bandh. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI probe on 9 January, and the CBI registered a case against unknown persons in February.
Background: a resort, a missing receptionist
Ankita came from Shrikot Dobha village in Pauri district and worked at the Vanantra resort in Ganga Bhogpur, Yamkeshwar block ETV Bharat. She had been working there for less than a month Tribune.
The resort belonged to Pulkit Arya. His father Vinod Arya, a BJP leader from Haridwar, had chaired the Uttarakhand Mati Kala Board with the rank of state minister Scroll.
The area was under "revenue police", the old system in which revenue officials such as the patwari did police work. Police later found that the accused told the local patwari, Vaibhav Pratap, about her disappearance, but no FIR was registered and he went on leave. The case reached the regular police only on 22 September, after public pressure. Pratap was later suspended and arrested by the SIT Tribune.
Timeline
Ankita disappears
According to police, she was pushed into the Chilla canal near the Chilla barrage that night ETV Bharat. A day later Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta filed a missing person report Scroll.
Three arrested, resort razed
The three were arrested and, police said, confessed LiveLaw. That night parts of the resort were bulldozed on Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's orders Scroll.
Body recovered, arson and anger
The State Disaster Response Force recovered her body from the Chilla canal. Hours later locals set fire to parts of the resort and threw stones at it. People in Rishikesh also vandalised the car of Yamkeshwar BJP MLA Renu Bisht, and police escorted her away Scroll. A factory owned by Pulkit Arya was set on fire, and opposition workers burnt an effigy of the state government IANS via National Herald. Protesters gheraoed the District Magistrate's office in Pauri ETV Bharat.
Expulsions and an SIT
The BJP expelled Vinod Arya and Pulkit's brother Ankit Arya, who was also removed as deputy chairperson of the state OBC Commission. Dhami announced an SIT under DIG P Renuka Devi Scroll.
Highway blockade, then cremation
Crowds sat on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway (NH 58) outside the base hospital mortuary in Srinagar, demanding death for the killers. The family first refused the last rites until the final post-mortem report came. They relented after appeals from Dhami, who promised a fast-track trial, and she was cremated at NIT Ghat PTI via Tribune. Srinagar traders kept their shops shut ETV Bharat.
First Uttarakhand bandh
A statewide bandh called by the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal to demand a CBI probe drew a mixed response. PTI reported it was near total in Pauri district, with markets deserted in Kotdwar and Srinagar, with nearly 40 political and social organisations, including the Congress, in support PTI via Tribune.
Chargesheet filed
The SIT filed a 500-page chargesheet with 97 witnesses in a Kotdwar court PTI via Tribune.
Revenue police replaced
The Dhami government notified that 1,800 revenue villages would move to the regular police, starting with an expansion of 52 police stations and 19 posts ANI via Dynamite News.
Verdict
All three accused were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment IANS.
CBI registers case
The CBI's Special Crime Branch registered a case against an "unknown VIP" IANS.
What police and the courts said happened
In September 2022 Pauri SSP Yashwant Singh told The Indian Express that the accused said Ankita left with them around 8 pm to visit Rishikesh. He said there was a heated exchange near the canal, she threw Pulkit's phone into the water, and he pushed her in BOOM, citing Indian Express.
Claim · Police and prosecution Director General of Police Ashok Kumar said Pulkit Arya had pressured her to provide "special services" to resort guests, and messages to a friend appeared to support this Scroll. The chargesheet named charges including murder, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment and offences under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act PTI via Tribune.
A provisional AIIMS Rishikesh post-mortem gave drowning as the cause of death and recorded injuries before death PTI via Tribune.
The bulldozer and the evidence controversy
Claim · Family and opposition Ankita's father said the government "tampered with the evidence by running a bulldozer on resort at midnight". Badrinath Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari said the resort was razed because the government had to destroy evidence PTI via Tribune.
Claim · Police Additional SP Kotdwar Shekhar Chandra Suyal said in 2022 that no evidence was destroyed:
No evidence has been destroyed. Our team has done videography of Ankita's room at the resort. We have also collected forensic and scientific evidences.
Shekhar Chandra Suyal, Additional SP Kotdwar, 25 September 2022 (PTI via Tribune)
Documented In December 2023 a JCB driver, Deepak, told the trial court he was called to the resort twice on 23 September 2022. He said the first time he razed the gate and boundary wall on the sub-divisional magistrate's instructions. The second time, he said, Renu Bisht's personal assistant called him back, Bisht was present, and on her instructions he broke the walls and windows of two rooms PTI via Deccan Herald. No response from Bisht appeared in the sources reviewed. A petition in the High Court had made the same allegation in October 2022 Tribune.
The "VIP" allegation
Claim · Ankita's friend and family During the first investigation a friend told police she was being pressed to "give special services" to a VIP guest. That angle was not part of the chargesheet IANS. In January 2026 Haridwar SP (Rural) Shekhar Suyal said investigators found no VIP: the person named in the chats was an acquaintance from Noida who had stopped at the resort briefly for a meal two days before, which staff and records confirmed Outlook.
Claim · Urmila Sanawar On 24 December 2025 actor Urmila Sanawar, who says she is the wife of expelled BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, released recordings she said were her conversations with him. She later named BJP national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the "VIP" called "Gattu" IANS. Rathore said his voice had been generated using AI Outlook, and after SIT questioning he called the case a "conspiracy" ETV Bharat.
Claim · Dushyant Gautam Gautam called the allegations defamatory, said he was not in Uttarakhand at the time, and described Sanawar and Rathore as "tools of the Congress party" IANS via Morung Express. On 7 January 2026 Justice Mini Pushkarna of the Delhi High Court, in an interim order on his Rs 2 crore defamation suit, ordered the Congress, AAP, Sanawar and others to remove posts linking him to the case, finding "a prima facie case" Scroll. No court or agency has named any VIP.
The 2026 protests
On 4 January 2026 the Congress, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, Mahila Manch, Left parties and others gathered at Dehradun's Parade Ground and marched towards the Chief Minister's residence, demanding a CBI probe and the VIP's name PTI via Pioneer. The same day a group of Uttarakhand migrants protested at Jantar Mantar in Delhi IANS. Newslaundry reported girls writing letters to the President in blood and state BJP leaders resigning Newslaundry.
Ankita's parents met Dhami on 7 January and asked for a CBI probe supervised by a Supreme Court judge PTI via Devdiscourse. Her father refused to sign a pre-written statement and wrote his own letter ThePrint. On 10 January Dehradun police registered a fresh FIR on a complaint by environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi to trace the alleged VIPs Outlook.
A second statewide bandh on 11 January, called by groups under the Ankita Nyay Yatra Joint Struggle Forum and backed by the Congress Outlook, drew a mixed response. The Doon Udyog Vyapar Mandal refused to back it, saying the main demand had already been met Oneindia. A mahapanchayat in Dehradun on 8 February demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe based on the parents' complaint, not Joshi's ETV Bharat.
Both accounts
Family's and protesters' account
The family and protest groups say the delay by revenue police, the overnight demolition and the missing "VIP" show that powerful people were shielded. Her mother Soni Devi called the CBI order "convenient" and asked: "What is the state trying to hide?" ThePrint. The Congress demanded Dhami's resignation and asked why the resort was bulldozed "without a judicial order" ETV Bharat.
Police and government account
Police say evidence was recorded before the demolition and that no VIP was found. Dhami says his government acted immediately, set up an SIT led by a woman IPS officer, arrested all the accused promptly, ensured none got bail during the trial and secured life sentences. He said separate FIRs had been filed over the audio clips and that "no fact or evidence" would be ignored PTI via Devdiscourse FPJ.
Government's position In September 2022 Dhami ordered the demolition and said: "No accused will be spared, whoever they may be" Scroll. In January 2026 he said no one was being shielded and called the audio row politicised: "Doesn't this look like a conspiracy to you?" Scroll, citing Indian Express. He recommended the CBI probe on 9 January out of respect for the parents' wishes ETV Bharat.
The courts: CBI plea, trial and verdict
Rejecting the CBI plea in December 2022, the High Court said there may have been "some initial hiccups" before the SIT took over. But it held the probe was not going "in improper direction with biased attitude" or protecting a high-profile person. It ordered the state to appoint an experienced Special Public Prosecutor Verdictum.
Charges were framed on 18 March 2023, and bail was refused PTI via Outlook. The trial ran two years and eight months, with 47 witnesses examined IANS.
On 30 May 2025 Additional District and Sessions Judge Reena Negi sentenced all three to life. The Tribune reported convictions under IPC sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120B (conspiracy) and 354A (sexual harassment) plus the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act Tribune. IANS listed a narrower set of sections. Fines were Rs 72,000 for Arya and Rs 62,000 each for the others, and more than 450 police guarded the court PTI via Tribune.
Outcome
- Convictions: Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, life imprisonment (30 May 2025).
- Other arrests: Patwari Vaibhav Pratap suspended and arrested by the SIT.
- Party action: BJP expelled Vinod Arya and Ankit Arya in September 2022.
- Policy change: Revenue police replaced by regular police in 1,800 villages (January 2023).
- Courts: CBI plea rejected by the High Court (December 2022); Delhi High Court interim gag on posts naming Gautam (January 2026).
- Inquiry: CBI case against unknown persons over the alleged VIP role and destroyed evidence (February 2026).
What is still pending
The CBI's FIR says it is alleged "that certain evidence in the case was concealed or destroyed" PTI via Pioneer. No CBI findings had been reported in the sources reviewed up to October 2026. On the fourth anniversary, 18 September 2026, the Congress held a "Nyay March" to the gates of the resort, now defunct, and state chief Ganesh Godiyal questioned the probe's pace PTI via Pioneer. The parents said in 2025 they would appeal for the death penalty PTI via Tribune. The status of any appeal was not reported in the sources reviewed.
Questions people ask
Who was Ankita Bhandari?
A 19-year-old from Pauri district who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra resort near Rishikesh. She went missing on 18 September 2022 and her body was found in the Chilla canal on 24 September.
Who was convicted of Ankita Bhandari's murder?
Resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta. A Kotdwar court sentenced them to life imprisonment on 30 May 2025.
Who is the VIP in the Ankita Bhandari case?
No court or agency has identified one. Police said in January 2026 that no VIP was found. Urmila Sanawar named BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam, who denies it and won an interim Delhi High Court order against posts linking him to the case. The CBI is now investigating.
Why was the resort bulldozed?
Parts were razed on 23 September 2022 on the Chief Minister's orders. The family and opposition say it destroyed evidence; police said evidence had already been recorded. A JCB driver told the court MLA Renu Bisht directed part of the demolition.
Is there a CBI probe in the Ankita Bhandari case?
Yes, since 2026. The High Court refused one in 2022. Chief Minister Dhami recommended it on 9 January 2026, and the CBI registered a case against unknown persons in February 2026. The family wanted it supervised by the Supreme Court.
Was there an Uttarakhand bandh over Ankita Bhandari?
Yes, twice: on 2 October 2022, called by the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, and on 11 January 2026, called by protest groups and backed by the Congress. Both drew mixed responses.
Sources
- Scroll: BJP expels ex-minister whose son confessed to murdering woman, 24 Sept 2022
- IANS via National Herald: Prime accused's factory set on fire, Opposition burns govt's effigy, 24 Sept 2022
- ETV Bharat: Locals block Badrinath-Rishikesh highway, 25 Sept 2022
- BOOM: Family refuses cremation, alleges resort razed to destroy evidence, 25 Sept 2022
- PTI via Tribune: Last rites held finally, Rishikesh-Badrinath highway blocked, 26 Sept 2022
- PTI via Tribune: Bandh demanding CBI probe gets mixed response, 2 Oct 2022
- Tribune: High Court asks SIT to file status report, 21 Oct 2022
- PTI via Tribune: Police file charge sheet, 21 Dec 2022
- LiveLaw: Uttarakhand High Court dismisses plea seeking CBI probe, 21 Dec 2022
- Verdictum: HC dismisses plea seeking transfer to CBI, 22 Dec 2022
- ANI via Dynamite News: Uttarakhand govt abolishes revenue police, 3 Jan 2023
- PTI via Outlook: Charges framed against 3 accused, 18 Mar 2023
- PTI via Deccan Herald: JCB driver tells court he was called twice for demolition, 24 Dec 2023
- IANS: Ex-minister's son, 2 others get life term, 30 May 2025
- Tribune: 3 get life term in Ankita murder case, 31 May 2025
- PTI via Tribune: Parents will challenge verdict, seek death penalty, 31 May 2025
- Outlook: Police deny VIP link as allegations resurface, 4 Jan 2026
- IANS: Protests reach Delhi, demand for CBI probe renewed, 4 Jan 2026
- Scroll: BJP's Dushyant Gautam files defamation case, 6 Jan 2026
- Scroll: Delhi HC orders Congress, AAP to remove posts linking BJP leader to case, 7 Jan 2026
- IANS via Morung Express: "My image has been harmed", says Dushyant Gautam, 7 Jan 2026
- Newslaundry: A leaked recording, BJP resignations and letters written in blood, 8 Jan 2026
- ETV Bharat: CM Dhami recommends CBI investigation, 9 Jan 2026
- PTI via Devdiscourse: Uttarakhand CM recommends CBI inquiry, 9 Jan 2026
- Free Press Journal: Dhami recommends CBI probe after meeting family, 9 Jan 2026
- ETV Bharat: Congress demands resignation of CM Dhami, 10 Jan 2026
- ThePrint: Ankita Bhandari's parents on the CBI probe, 11 Jan 2026
- Oneindia: Uttarakhand bandh, what's open and what's closed, 11 Jan 2026
- Outlook: Fresh FIR filed to trace VIP link, Jan 2026
- IANS: CBI takes over probe, registers case against "unknown VIP", 3 Feb 2026
- PTI via Pioneer: CBI to probe alleged VIP, 4 Feb 2026
- ETV Bharat: Mahapanchayat demands SC-monitored CBI probe, 8 Feb 2026
- PTI via Pioneer: Congress holds Nyay March on death anniversary, 18 Sept 2026