Uttarakhand CM recommends CBI probe in Ankita Bhandari murder case

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said the state government has recommended a CBI inquiry into the Ankita Bhandari murder case, a move that comes amid renewed and intense public protests demanding broader accountability and police transparency.

Dhami told reporters that during a recent meeting with Ankita’s parents — who have been at the forefront of the campaign for a deeper probe — they formally requested a CBI investigation into their daughter’s killing. “Respecting their request and sentiments, the state government has recommended the inquiry,” he said, stressing that the government’s objective has been and will continue to be to ensure justice in a fair, transparent, and sensitive manner.

He added that the government’s intention is completely clear, and no fact or evidence will be overlooked, attempting to reassure a public that has repeatedly expressed scepticism about the handling of the case and broader issues of law and order. Indeed, Dhami himself was asking protesters to apologise just a day or two ago, for 'misleading the public'.

On Thursday, the Government Nursing College in Dobh (Shrikot) village of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand was renamed Late Ankita Bhandari Government Nursing College, yet another of the government's promises it had so far failed to honour.

Ankita Bhandari was a 19-year-old receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Pauri Garhwal when she was abducted and murdered in September 2022. The crime triggered shock and outrage across Uttarakhand and beyond, with critics pointing to alleged lapses in local policing and raising questions about the influence of powerful individuals in the region.

In 2023, a local court convicted resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees, sentencing all three to life imprisonment for Ankita’s murder. But that resolution did not put the matter to rest for many citizens: protests have continued in towns and cities across Uttarakhand, with demonstrators demanding a CBI probe not only into the murder itself but also into alleged cover-ups and slow-paced investigation by local authorities.

By recommending a federal investigation, Dhami’s government appears to be responding to that sustained public pressure — and to the perception among some sections of society that only an independent agency like the CBI can deliver the full truth behind a crime that stunned a generation of young Indians.

This development adds a new chapter to the unfolding story of Ankita’s death: one that moves beyond the courtroom convictions to the broader debate over accountability, institutional trust, and the demand for justice that refuses to be silenced.

With PTI inputs