Ankita Bhandari murder case: CBI summons journalist, main petitioner for questioning
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Ashutosh Negi, an Uttarakhand-based journalist and petitioner in Ankita Bhandari murder case, asking him to appear before it in Delhi on Tuesday, people familiar with the development said.Negi, editor of Jago Uttarakhand, termed the summons as harassment.“Instead of questioning the VIPs involved, CBI is questioning the people who want justice in Ankita Bhandari’s murder,” he told HT, while adding that he had arrived in Delhi and will reach CBI headquarters on Tuesday morning.CBI, in its summon to Negi, said that “there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you”.Also Read: Ankita Bhandari murder case: CBI team in Saharanpur to question Urmila SanawarIt was Negi who had been pursuing since 2022 for a CBI probe into the murder of Bhandari.
Interestingly, he was arrested by Uttarakhand police in March 2024 for his reporting on the murder investigation. He was granted bail later.Ankita Bhandari worked at the Vanantra resort in Pauri Garhwal. She went missing on September 18, 2022, barely three weeks into the job, and her body was recovered from a canal days later. The case set off protests across Uttarakhand and sustained public anger over how the early investigation was handled.Under pressure, the chief minister Pushkar Dhami-led government eventually ordered a CBI probe in the incident in January this year.The family has sought a thorough investigation into the alleged involvement of a VIP in Ankita’s murder.
The demand for a fresh investigation into the alleged VIP angle gained momentum after actress Urmila Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, released an audio clip purportedly containing a telephone conversation between the two.Also Read: Ankita Bhandari’s parents seek narco test on former BJP MLAIn the recording, Rathore allegedly referred to the involvement of a BJP leader in the case.
The clip triggered protests across Uttarakhand, with demonstrators demanding a CBI probe into the alleged role of the unidentified VIP.Prior to the CBI takeover, Uttarakhand police conducted an investigation in the case and arrested three accused persons.Also Read:Rahul slams Govt over 4am detention of Ankita Bhandari’s parents at India GateOn May 30, 2025, the additional district and sessions court in Kotdwar convicted the three accused, identified as Pulkit Arya, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment.A CBI team has recently stationed itself in Uttarakhand and has started questioning all connected persons.
