New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Rampur MP Mohibbullah Nadvi on Thursday said the daughters of the country should not be viewed through a political lens, asserting that every citizen deserves equal justice regardless of their social or economic status. His remarks came after parents of murder victim Ankita Bhandari were detained by the police during the protest near India Gate in the national Capital on Wednesday and released at around 5 a.m. on Thursday.
According to reports, the parents of Ankita Bhandari, a teenaged receptionist who was killed in September 2022 in Uttarakhand, sat in protest at India Gate on Wednesday demanding that the appointment of senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim by the President be put on hold.
Commenting on the protest at India Gate against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Governor of Sikkim, Nadvi told IANS that people approached public spaces and the media to seek justice when they felt deprived of it. He said the victim’s parents were also sitting at India Gate seeking justice for their daughter.
Nadvi questioned the decision to allow Gautam to be appointed as governor, alleging that he has been named in connection with the case following the girl’s death.
He said investigations were underway and argued that appointing someone to a constitutional position in such circumstances was unjust.
Nadvi said the courts had their own procedures and that he did not intend to question the judiciary. However, he said society must also respond to the suffering of victims and their families. He described the public’s demand for justice as a matter of humanity and urged people to understand and share the pain of those affected.
Asked about the detention of Bhandari’s parents, Nadvi told IANS that suppressing a victim’s voice or attempting to intimidate the family would only add to their suffering. He maintained that a person’s financial standing or political influence should not determine the value attached to their life or their access to justice.
Nadvi also alleged that efforts to maintain social balance were being obstructed and said SP leader Dimple Yadav’s call for justice had brought wider public attention to the case. He accused some people of dividing society into groups instead of standing together for the victim.
Incidentally, the SIT investigation into Ankita Bhandari’s murder case found that the victim was being asked to provide sexual services to guests at the resort she was working in; which she opposed.
In May 2025, a court in Pauri Garhwal convicted the resort manager, Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, along with his two associates Ankit Gupta and Saurabh Bhaskar, sentencing them to life imprisonment.
The renewed focus comes to the case as Ankita’s father, Virendra, alleged the involvement of an unidentified VIP and circumstances that also involved Dushyant Kumar Gautam in the case.
–IANS
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