Ankita Bhandari murder case: Police register 2 FIRs over fresh allegations

The Uttarakhand Police on Saturday said it had filed two FIRs and was probing the allegations made in a video that emerged on social media in connection with the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Dr V Murugesan said, "Based on the facts that emerge during the investigation, legal and effective action will be taken."  Dr Murugesan appealed to the general public to come up with evidence, if they have any, that may be related to the murder.

The officer called the receptionist's murder an "extremely unfortunate and sensitive incident."  Murugesan said that, after the killing, the state government immediately constituted a Special Investigation Team under a female IPS officer, which promptly arrested all the accused and ensured that they did not get bail.

He said that during the investigation and the trial, petitions were filed in the high court and the Supreme Court requesting that the investigation of this case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

But both courts considered the SIT investigation to be fair, transparent and lawful, and denied the pleas, he added.

The lower court sentenced all three accused to life imprisonment.

The latest FIRs stem from a viral video of Urmila Sanawar, the alleged wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, and an audio recording of her alleged conversation with Rathore.

In her video, Sanawar alleged that the person named 'Gattu' is the same 'VIP' involved in the Ankita murder case.

In another video, Sanawar revealed the identity of the purported 'Gattu', which triggered a round of accusations and counter-accusations in Uttarakhand politics.