New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned Uttarakhand journalist Ashutosh Negi in connection with its inquiry into claims that an unidentified “VIP” may have been linked to the 2022 killing of Ankita Bhandari, PTI reported, citing officials.
Negi, who was summoned to the agency’s headquarters in New Delhi, is among those who had publicly pressed for a CBI probe into the case. He had also moved the Uttarakhand High Court seeking a central investigation, although the court declined to entertain his petition.
The CBI is examining allegations surrounding the murder of the 19-year-old former resort receptionist after audio and video material circulated online suggested that a prominent individual, referred to only as a “VIP,” could have had a role in the crime. Following demands from Ankita’s parents, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended that the case be handed over to the central agency.
Separate Probe Opened
In February, the CBI registered a fresh case against unidentified persons to investigate the alleged involvement of a “VIP” in the murder. Ankita’s body was recovered near Rishikesh in 2022.
She had worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district. Resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his staff members were convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
“Materials are circulating on social media, including audio and video and others, alleging that certain unknown individuals, referred to as ‘VIP’, were involved in a crime related to the Ankita Bhandari murder case,” the CBI FIR said.
“Although the perpetrators involved in the murder have been convicted, it is being alleged on social media and other platforms that certain evidence in the case was concealed or destroyed,” the CBI FIR added.
Under established practice, when a state government requests a CBI investigation, the agency re-registers the police FIR as its own case and begins its probe from that point.
