Ankita Bhandari's parents demand CBI probe into daughter's murder

The parents of Ankita Bhandari have urged Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for a CBI probe into the murder of their daughter, according to their letter. Ankita's father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, and mother, Soni Devi, met Dhami Wednesday night and handed him a letter demanding an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the case under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. In the letter, Ankita's father said that his daughter was murdered because of a 'VIP' whose identity is still unknown.

He wrote, ''I appeal to the government to get this case investigated by the CBI under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge to apprehend the VIP.'' After the meeting, Dhami said, ''I have listened to them. A decision will be taken soon after considering their concerns.'' The chief minister on Thursday also demanded an apology from the Opposition after a new audio, purportedly of actress Urmila Sanawar, surfaced with another claim.

''The public is watching everything they (opposition parties) did. Now that the new audio has come out, they should say something about it. They should apologise to the people of Uttarakhand for using the Ankita murder case for their politics,'' he said.

In the audio, Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former MLA Suresh Rathore, is purportedly heard telling Rathore that she was pressured to name BJP leader Dushyant Gautam as the ''VIP''.

The BJP said the audio had exposed the conspiracy to defame its party leaders.

In 2022, Ankita Bhandari, 19, a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Pauri, was murdered by resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees.

All three were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.

A demand for a CBI probe into the 2022 killing has gathered pace ever since Sanawar claimed the involvement of a 'VIP' in the murder.