IndiaPosted at: Oct 15 2026 7:47PM


Rahul Gandhi urges President to reconsider Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor

New Delhi, Oct 15 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has urged President Droupadi Murmu to ask the government to reconsider Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor until the investigation into the 2022 murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand is completed, raising concerns over the unresolved identity of the alleged VIP linked to the case.
In a letter to the President, Rahul Gandhi recalled that Ankita had refused to compromise her dignity for a VIP and alleged that this had led to her murder. He expressed concern over the pace of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s probe, saying that even four years after the incident, the identity of the alleged VIP remained unknown.
“Even after four years, due to the slow investigation by the CBI, the question remains: who was that VIP?” Rahul Gandhi wrote.
He alleged that Ankita’s family and several others believed that Gautam was connected to the case and questioned the decision to appoint him Governor. Rahul Gandhi also claimed that Gautam’s appointment to a constitutional office could complicate efforts to pursue legal proceedings against him while the investigation remained incomplete.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the appointment, Rahul Gandhi accused the government of failing to give due consideration to concerns about women’s safety and the demand for justice in the case. He urged President Murmu to advise the government to reconsider its decision and ensure that Gautam did not assume office until the investigation was completed.
“Do not let Ankita’s parents’ hope for justice be shattered,” he appealed to the President.
Ankita Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, was murdered in September 2022. Her death triggered widespread outrage and protests across the state, with people demanding accountability and a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crime.
The case became politically contentious amid allegations that a VIP had sought special services from Ankita and that her refusal was linked to her murder. The identity of the alleged VIP has remained a sensitive issue, with opposition leaders repeatedly demanding answers and questioning whether all aspects of the case had been fully investigated.
Rahul Gandhi’s intervention has brought the case back into the political spotlight following Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor. However, the allegations concerning Gautam’s possible connection to the murder remain claims attributed to Rahul Gandhi and those he cited, and should not be treated as established findings of the investigation.
His appeal to the President has renewed the focus on the unresolved questions surrounding Ankita’s death, the demand for transparency in the investigation and the family’s pursuit of justice. The Congress leader has called for the government to reconsider the gubernatorial appointment until the investigation is completed.
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