Ankita Bhandari case: Urmila Sanawar hands over phone to court

Actor Urmila Sanawar appeared before a district court in Uttarakhand's Roshanabad on Friday and handed over her mobile phone as evidence in the aftermath of viral audio controversy linked to the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The device was sealed in court under prescribed procedure and placed in secure custody.

Former MLA and Sanawar's reported husband Suresh Rathore, who is named in the same proceedings, did not appear, citing health reasons. His lawyer moved an application seeking more time, which the court accepted before fixing a fresh date for the next hearing.

Given the sensitivity of the case, security was tightened in and around the Roshanabad court complex. A large police deployment remained on standby, with regular patrols to prevent any disturbance. Investigating officers Inspector R.K. Saklani and Inspector Yogesh Dutt, along with SIDCUL police station in-charge Nitesh Sharma, were present in court with their teams throughout, as per media reports.

Police officers supervised both the submission of the phone and the overall security arrangements. According to sources, voice samples from both sides are expected to be placed before the court next as part of the wider investigation into the viral audio. Further legal steps will be decided once forensic reports on these samples are received.

Background: the Ankita Bhandari murder

Nineteen-year-old Ankita Bhandari worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort near Rishikesh. In September 2022, she was reported missing; a few days later, her body was recovered from the Chilla Canal. Investigators said she had been raped and murdered.

Resort owner Pulkit Arya and staff members Ankit Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar were arrested and later charged with abduction, rape and murder. The case drew national attention because Pulkit is the son of then-prominent BJP functionary Vinod Arya, and because of allegations that Ankita had been pressured to provide 'extra services' to at least one unidentified 'VIP' guest.

On 30 May 2025, a Kotdwar court convicted Arya and his associates of Ankita’s murder and sentenced them to life in prison.

Protests that shook Uttarakhand

Ankita’s killing triggered sustained anger and street protests across Uttarakhand in 2022, becoming a symbol of public frustration with political impunity and policing failures, but they died down after the trial.

The latest wave of protests was sparked in late December 2025, when an audio clip linked to the case surfaced online, reviving questions around the 'VIP' angle, and whether influential figures had been shielded. This led to fresh demonstrations, dharnas and marches across the state, including a statewide bandh call backed by Opposition parties and social groups.

Markets shut in several hill districts such as Pauri, Chamoli, Tehri and Rudraprayag, while rallies and sit-ins were held in Dehradun, Almora, Bageshwar and other towns. Protesters demanded that the 'VIP' angle be fully probed and the investigation be placed under CBI supervision with monitoring by a sitting Supreme Court judge, echoing demands made by Ankita’s parents.

Amid this pressure, the Uttarakhand government first recommended and then approved a CBI probe into aspects of the case, including the fresh allegations arising from the leaked recordings.

Sanawar’s role in the fresh storm

Sanawar, an actor who has described herself as the (now estranged) wife of Rathore, has been central to this latest round of controversy. In a series of audio and video clips posted on social media, she claimed Rathore had told her that Ankita had been killed after refusing to “serve” a politically connected VIP. In one video, she went further and named senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the alleged VIP, a claim he has strongly denied.

Her statements helped fuel public anger, provided a focal point for protest slogans, and intensified demands that the “VIP angle” be investigated independently. At the same time, they triggered their own legal backlash: multiple FIRs have been filed against both Sanawar and Rathore in Dehradun and Haridwar, including a defamation complaint by Gautam, who has accused them of conspiring with Opposition figures to malign him.

Police and the Special Investigation Team have since questioned Sanawar for several hours about the authenticity of the clips, the source of the recordings and the basis of her allegations.

Friday’s court appearance — where she surrendered her phone to be sealed and examined — is part of this process of testing the viral audio as potential evidence. The expected submission of voice samples from both sides, along with the CBI’s parallel inquiry, will now determine whether the “VIP” claims alter the legal and political trajectory of a case that has already transformed into a statewide movement for accountability.