On Wednesday, Ankita Bhandari's parents — who have staged ongoing protests in connection with their daughter's case — met with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at India Gate. Separately, the family has lodged a petition addressed to President Droupadi Murmu urging that Dushyant Kumar Gautam's proposed appointment as Sikkim Governor not be confirmed.

The push for action has placed fresh scrutiny on a purported high-profile link to the killing that took place in 2022, while also drawing renewed attention to the progress of the Central Bureau of Investigation's probe.

Virendra Singh Bhandari and Soni Devi, identified as Ankita's parents, have called for Gautam's appointment to be suspended pending the outcome of the CBI inquiry. Accusations linking him to the so-called VIP angle have been put forward, though none of those claims have been established through any formal finding. Denying any involvement, Gautam has pursued legal proceedings against those who made statements connecting him to the offence.

During a demonstration held in Delhi, Virendra Bhandari put forward a call to President Murmu to reconsider the appointment decision. A broadcast outlet reported that he called for Gautam to remain out of office until the CBI inquiry reaches its conclusion.

Soni Devi told the President that the 12 October announcement had brought renewed distress to her family, echoing an appeal others had already placed before him. The family also requested a meeting with Murmu and put authorities on notice that a hunger strike outside the Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Office in Dehradun remains an option should their appeal go unaddressed.

Both Rahul Gandhi, who holds the Leader of Opposition post in the Lok Sabha, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among those who took part in the demonstration.

On Monday, 12 October, the office of Sikkim Governor passed to Gautam through a formal appointment made by President Droupadi Murmu. According to the notification issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the appointment becomes operative from the moment he takes over the post. No inauguration date was included in the announcement.

Article 361 of the Constitution bars the initiation or continuation of any criminal case against a sitting Governor in any court throughout that person's tenure, and no court holds the power to direct their detention or incarceration. How far that shield extends to investigative actions has itself been a matter of legal contest.

Relatives have raised concerns that Gautam's appointment may introduce procedural complications should the CBI establish sufficient grounds to pursue a case against him.

On 9 January 2026, Uttarakhand's Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, put forward a request for a CBI investigation following renewed questions about the identity of a person described as a VIP in connection with the matter. Following that, a case was lodged through its Special Crime Branch, with documentation drawn from the earlier Special Investigation Team inquiry brought into the process.

According to media reports, a pair of CBI officers travelled to Ankita's home village in Pauri district on Friday, where they spent several hours putting questions to her parents. Virendra Bhandari raised questions about where the investigation stood and also took issue with the pace at which it was moving forward.

Ankita held a front-desk role at Vanantara Resort, a property in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, and was 19 years old at the time. On 18 September 2022, she went missing, and six days later her body was pulled from the Chilla canal. The investigation determined that she had not complied with demands to offer sexual services to resort guests.

Three individuals — resort owner Pulkit Arya, along with staff members Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta — received life terms from a Kotdwar court on 30 May 2025 over the killing. Arya was identified as the son of Vinod Arya, a one-time BJP figure.

Notwithstanding those three convictions, the family was left without answers about whether additional parties bore any connection to the pressure Ankita faced. Recordings described as authentic began drawing public notice to the accusation against Gautam toward the end of 2025.

Denying the truth of the allegations, Gautam launched a defamation lawsuit to contest them formally. A temporary order handed down by the Delhi High Court on 7 January 2026 required both the Congress party and the Aam Aadmi Party to take down posts connecting him to the killing, while also barring the publication of any comparable material going forward.

A demonstration was staged in Dehradun on Tuesday by Uttarakhand Congress members under Ganesh Godiyal's leadership, with participants raising concerns that the appointment stood to shield Gautam from facing legal action. A visit Rahul Gandhi paid to Ankita's family in August also prompted him to put forward questions about the purported connection to a VIP.