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Congress leader and AICC Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand over alleged threats received by advocate Navneesh Negi, who is representing the family of the 2022 murder victim Ankita Bhandari, calling the development "extremely serious."
Questioning the law and order situation in Uttarakhand, Selja took to social media platform X and wrote, "The ongoing fight for justice for Ankita Bhandari by advocate Shri Navneesh Negi receiving alleged threats, is extremely serious. The BJP government must explain: Under whose protection in Uttarakhand have criminals become so emboldened that even advocates fighting for justice are no longer safe?" "The battle to secure justice for Ankita has already raised several grave questions about the system, and now threats to an advocate on her side raise yet another major question mark over the BJP government's law and order situation," she added. Demanding immediate security for the advocate, Selja urged the state government to bring in an Advocate Protection Act. "The government must immediately conduct an impartial investigation, bring the guilty to justice, ensure the advocate's safety, and take concrete steps on the Advocate Protection Act. In Devbhoomi, there should be no fear of criminalsonly the rule of law," the Congress leader added. Ankita Bhandari, who was working as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was murdered in September 2022. Her body was recovered from the Cheela Canal on September 24. The case gained renewed attention after an FIR was registered against an unidentified VIP in January 2026, following allegations and viral audio and video clips referring to the involvement of a VIP. The Central Bureau of Investigation subsequently registered the case through its Special Crime Branch after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI probe on January 9, 2026. The CBI has since taken custody of records related to the case, including the Special Investigation Team report, the police FIR and other documents. The agency is also expected to record the statement of Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who had filed the FIR. The development came after protests across Uttarakhand demanding a CBI investigation into the alleged VIP angle in Ankita Bhandari's murder. In this case, the resort owner Pulkit Arya, manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and Ankita Gupta have already been sentenced to life imprisonment. (ANI)
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