NEW DELHI: Ankita Bhandari’s parents, along with several opposition leaders and protesters, were detained by Delhi Police at India Gate after an overnight protest.According to Delhi Police, Ankita’s parents were later released.This comes after Ankita’s parents staged a protest near India Gate, demanding that the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim governor be put on hold until the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case is completed.Congress leaders criticised the police action, alleging that the authorities were targeting those demanding justice for Ankita Bhandari and questioning the proposed appointment of Dushyant Gautam.Congress MP Pawan Khera alleged that the police action reflected a deterioration in democratic freedoms.“This is brutality. You can see democracy coming to an end at India Gate. It is ending at 4 am,” Khera said.The protesters demanded the cancellation of Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as governor amid a probe into the alleged VIP angle in the case.

Earlier on Wednesday, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with the parents of the late Ankita Bhandari during their sit-in protest at India Gate.Ankita was murdered on September 18, 2022, and her body was recovered from the Chilla Canal on September 24, 2022.The resort owner, Pulkit Arya, son of expelled BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two staff members, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta, were arrested and chargesheeted. On May 30, 2025, they were sentenced to life imprisonment by Additional District Judge Reena Negi in Kotdwar for murder, destruction of evidence and other charges.