Police escort Ankita Bhandari's parents off Rajghat after dharna

Police removed the parents of Ankita Bhandari from Rajghat on Wednesday after they began a dharna near the public gate of Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, a police source said. The couple arrived to offer prayers and speak to media, then, with two others, set up the sit‑in at a spot not meant for protests. Officers repeatedly asked them to leave; when they stayed, the police escorted them away without arresting them. During the removal, Bhandari’s mother Soni Devi complained of ill health and was taken to Burari government hospital for a medico‑legal check, but she and her husband refused the examination. AAP legislator Sanjeev Jha and his supporters reached the hospital and escorted the parents out. This protest follows a detention of the same parents on Oct 14 near India Gate, where they had opposed the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim governor. Ankita Bhandari, a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was murdered on 18 September 2022; her body was found in the Chilla canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices received life sentences. Activists continue to demand a probe into alleged links between an unidentified VIP and the murder. ## Context Rajghat is a national memorial that does not permit public protests, so police often intervene when demonstrators gather there. The Bhandari case has drawn political scrutiny because of claims that a powerful figure may have helped the perpetrators, a point that remains unresolved. The parents’ repeated protests reflect ongoing public pressure for a deeper inquiry.