Ankita case: LIU inspector suspended, CBI visits Sanawar’s Saharanpur home

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun 

A Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) inspector in Pauri district has been suspended over an alleged intelligence lapse after Ankita Bhandari’s parents travelled to Delhi to protest against Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim governor despite being allegedly linked to the purported VIP in the murder case.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) Delhi team has also visited actress Urmila Sanawar’s residence in Saharanpur to question her on Sunday. 

The action against the inspector followed reports that the Intelligence department had no prior information about Bhandari’s parents travelling to the national capital to stage a protest. The protest at India Gate drew support from Congress leaders, along with party workers and social activists. The development has brought the case back into the political spotlight in Uttarakhand, where protests and candle marches have been held demanding justice for Bhandari.

Meanwhile, a four-member CBI team, including a woman officer, reached Sanawar’s residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur to question her in connection with the case. The team had visited the house a day earlier but could not question her because she was absent. Sanawar recently appeared at a Press conference in Delhi alongside Bhandari’s parents and demanded that the CBI question her in the presence of the media.

The agency had taken over the investigation in February and registered a case against an unidentified VIP. The CBI visit came a day after it questioned former Bharatiya Janata party MLA Suresh Rathore at the Shivalik Guest House in Haridwar.