Congress protests against BJP MLA's statement in Ankita Bhandari case

BJP MLA Dilip Rawte has stated that if the sole objective of the Ankita Bhandari murder case family is to obtain justice, they should refuse government aid. According to a PTI report, the Uttarakhand Congress has reacted strongly to Rawte's statement.

Speaking to the media, BJP MLA Dilip Rawte said that he stands with Ankita's family and supports their purpose when they say they have not received justice and are unhappy with the state government's efforts. However, Rawte questioned that if they are dissatisfied with the government's actions, they should not accept aid from the government. Rawte further added that he does not know whether the government has provided any aid to the family or not, but if their only intention is to get justice, they should reject all aid and speak only of justice. Rawte also said that when someone seeks justice, all other aid becomes irrelevant because their sole objective should be to ensure justice. He also stated that our government should also take their demand seriously and work to ensure justice for the family.

Reacting to this statement, Uttarakhand Congress Senior Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana termed the BJP's mentality as 'anti-woman'. Dhasmana demanded that the BJP clarify whether the compensation amount given to Ankita's family was conditional, so that they do not demand the disclosure of the alleged 'VIP' involved in the case. He further added that the compensation was paid from the public exchequer, which is the hard-earned money of the people, not from the BJP's own funds. Dhasmana alleged that the BJP is making malicious attempts to save the 'VIP', the real culprit of the Ankita Bhandari case, under various pretexts. He expressed confidence that the culprit will not escape and when the Congress comes to power, justice will be served to the real culprit behind the crime against Ankita.

Ankita Bhandari was 19 years old and worked as a receptionist at Vantara Resort near Rishikesh. On 18 September, 2022, she was murdered by the resort owner Pulkit Arya and his two employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta. The court has sentenced all three to life imprisonment in this case.