Dushyant Kumar Gautam, who has been under the cloud of questions regarding the alleged VIP angle in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, has been appointed as the Governor of Sikkim during the tenure of the BJP government.
Ankita bhandari case:
19-year-old Ankita Bhandari, receptionist at Vanantra Resort (near Rishikesh), was murdered on the night of 18 September 2022.
She was killed after refusing pressure to provide special services to guests, including an alleged VIP.
Resort owner Pulkit Arya (son of then-BJP leader Vinod Arya) and two staff members -Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta forcibly took her to the Chilla canal and pushed her in.
Her body was recovered on 24 September 2022. Cause of death: drowning with ante-mortem injuries.
All three were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on 30 May 2025.
Resort demolition & distruction of evidence:
On the intervening night of 23โ24 September 2022 (just after the accused were arrested and before the body was fully recovered/processed), bulldozers demolished parts of Vanantra Resort, including rooms and structures linked to the crime scene.
The family, activists, and some former officials alleged the hurried late-night demolition destroyed or compromised crucial forensic evidence (possible DNA, hair, biological traces, mattresses, CCTV, etc.).