The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Uttarakhand journalist Ashutosh Negi, the main petitioner in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, for questioning in New Delhi on Tuesday, according to CBI sources reported by ANI. IANS separately reported that Negi, a Uttarakhand-based journalist and petitioner in the case, was summoned to appear in New Delhi on Tuesday. Negi edits Jago Uttarakhand and has been a leading voice in the demand for justice in the case.
Source: ANI via LatestLY
According to UK Nation News, the CBI notice was signed by Hanuman Prasad Meena, Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI, and directed Negi to appear at the CBI headquarters at the CGO Complex in Lodhi Colony, New Delhi, at 10:30 am on October 27 with whatever evidence he possesses, and Negi announced he would present himself at the prescribed time and cooperate fully with the investigation. The Illustrated Daily News reported Negi criticising the summons, saying that instead of questioning the alleged VIPs involved, the CBI was questioning people who want justice for Ankita — a criticism the CBI has not responded to in the coverage reviewed.
Source: UK Nation News
Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at a resort near Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, was killed in September 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya and employees Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court. The CBI's current inquiry concerns a separate, alleged 'unknown VIP' angle: the agency took over the probe in February after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI inquiry on January 9 following a request by Ankita's parents, and its Special Crime Branch registered a case against an 'unknown VIP'. No VIP has been named or charged in this line of inquiry, and the alleged involvement remains an allegation under investigation.
Source: Illustrated Daily News
The summons follows other recent steps in the same inquiry, ANI reported. Earlier this month, a four-member CBI team visited actress Urmila Sanawar's residence in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with a purported viral audio clip and references to an alleged 'VIP'; Sanawar said she was questioned for around four hours on October 18 and was then served a notice to appear on October 23 to record her consent or refusal for a narco-analysis test. On Sunday, Uttarakhand Police arrested Sanawar in a separate case registered at Ranipur Kotwali police station in Haridwar on the night of October 24, on a written complaint by Deepika Rathore, daughter of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, alleging obscene and defamatory social-media remarks against her family — an allegation in a distinct case. ANI noted the wider controversy over the alleged VIP angle has escalated following the appointment of former BJP Uttarakhand in-charge Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim.
Source: ANI via LatestLY