BJP Leader Dushyant Gautam Files Defamation Suit Over Ankita Bhandari Case Allegations
Defamation Case Filed by BJP Leader
Dushyant Gautam, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttarakhand unit, has initiated a defamation lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against the Congress party, the Aam Aadmi Party, actress Urmila Sanawar, and others. This legal action stems from social media posts that allegedly connect him to the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari, as reported by a news outlet on Tuesday.
Gautam claims that the online content shared by Sanawar has unjustly implicated him in Bhandari's murder, which took place at a resort near Haridwar, leading to significant damage to his reputation.
In December, Sanawar posted videos and an audio recording of a purported conversation with her former husband, Suresh Rathore, a BJP MLA who was expelled from the party, where Gautam's name was allegedly mentioned.
Following these posts, the Congress and other opposition parties accused Gautam of involvement in the case and called for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry.
Bhandari, who worked as a receptionist at a resort owned by Pulkit Arya, the son of a former BJP leader, went missing on September 18, 2022. The following day, Arya and his associates reported her disappearance.
However, they later confessed to murdering Bhandari by pushing her into a canal after a dispute. Her body was discovered six days later in the Chilla Canal in Rishikesh.
The BJP subsequently expelled Vinod Arya and his other son, Ankit Arya, once the details of the case emerged.
Evidence, including WhatsApp messages from Bhandari to a friend, suggested that the men were allegedly attempting to coerce her into prostitution. Reports indicated that she was killed for refusing to provide 'special services' to a 'VIP'.
In May, Pulkit Arya, Bhaskar, and Gupta received life sentences for their roles in Bhandari's murder.
In his defamation suit, Gautam has accused several individuals, including Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal, the AAP, Sanawar, Rathore, and various users on the social media platform X, of defamation. He has also named social media companies Meta, Google, and X in his allegations.
Gautam's petition stated, 'Serious allegations have been made against me, suggesting I was the ‘VIP’ linked to the Ankita Bhandari case, all without any judicial conclusion.'
The lawsuit claims that despite his clarifications and the filing of first information reports, the defamatory content continues to circulate without correction, causing ongoing harm to his reputation.
He is seeking damages of approximately Rs 2 crore and has requested injunctions to prevent further dissemination of the material.
Additionally, Gautam has lodged a police complaint against Rathore, Sanawar, the Congress, and the AAP, citing violations of the Information Technology Act and defamation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In his complaint, he alleged that the audio and video clips were intentionally spread to tarnish his image, harm the BJP's reputation, incite public unrest, and disrupt public order.
The Uttarakhand Police confirmed that a case has been registered based on Gautam's complaint and that the evidence provided will be scrutinized.
Chief Minister's Response to Allegations
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that no one would be shielded from investigation and accused the opposition of politicizing the issue. He remarked, 'When the paper leak protests began, it was also triggered by an audio. This time, another audio clip has led to the current situation. Doesn’t this look like a conspiracy to you?'
Dhami announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the audio clip and verify the claims made.
He also mentioned that the police are working to locate Sanawar and Rathore.