The Crossbill News Desk
The arrest of actress Urmila Sanawar in a separate defamation and extortion case has raised questions over its timing, coming shortly before a scheduled court hearing on her willingness to undergo narco-analysis and polygraph tests in connection with the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari.
Uttarakhand Police arrested Sanawar from her residence in Govindnagar, in the Sadar Bazar area of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, October 25. She has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Sanawar was due to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday, October 26, in connection with the Bhandari murder case.
On Friday, October 23, she had agreed to undergo narco-analysis and polygraph tests, with the court scheduled to take up the matter again on Monday.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Singh Bhulla on Tuesday said the arrest was made in connection with a separate complaint registered at Ranipur police station on October 24.
“A case was registered against Urmila Sanawar at Ranipur Police Station on October 24. The sections invoked are 308(5) and 308(7), which correspond to Section 386 of the IPC. It is a sessions-trial case, and immediate arrest was warranted. Since the incident occurred and the case was registered on October 24, Urmila Sanawar was arrested. The phone used to issue the threat was also recovered from her residence. Following this, the honourable court remanded her to 14 days of judicial custody. As far as the narco-analysis test is concerned, that relates to a separate case. There is no problem with conducting the narco-analysis test,” Bhulla told news agency IANS.
According to reports, the Haridwar FIR followed a written complaint by Deepika Rathore, daughter of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore. She accused Sanawar of circulating obscene and defamatory material about her father and family on social media to damage their reputation.
The complaint also alleged that Sanawar demanded Rs 5 crore and the transfer of property associated with Ravidas Dham, besides threatening to kill her.
Sanawar has maintained that Suresh Rathore was her husband. Rathore, however, has repeatedly denied that they were married.
“She [Sanwar] called me the day before yesterday [Saturday] and told me that there is a Ravidas Peeth, and that I should get it transferred into her name by asking my father. She also demanded that I get Rs 5 crore in cash from my father for her. She made this demand and threatened that if I did not comply, she would have me killed. I was very pleased that the Uttarakhand Police listened to my complaint promptly this time and took immediate action, because such action was necessary,” Deepika Rathore told IANS on Tuesday.
“Whether it is a woman like me, another woman or a man, if anyone faces such behaviour, the person responsible should not be spared and immediate action should be taken against them. When she first met us, she had also filed cases against her own children and has filed cases against many other people. There are numerous cases against her,” she added.
A separate FIR was registered in Dehradun on Monday following a complaint by a man named Sagar. The complaint accused Sanawar of making obscene, indecent and defamatory remarks about Sikkim Governor Dushyant Kumar Gautam, BJP leader B.L. Santhosh and former district panchayat member Aarti Gaur, among others. It alleged that videos containing indecent remarks about a woman had been knowingly circulated in a public forum to damage the reputations of those named.
Police have invoked Sections 79, 352, 353 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to insulting the modesty of a woman, intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, statements causing public mischief and defamation.
Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh when she was murdered on September 18, 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, was convicted in the case along with resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta.
The Bhandari family has raised allegations concerning a purported “VIP” guest. Several accounts have claimed that Ankita was killed after refusing to provide “special services” to the guest, a euphemism for sex work. The family has identified Gautam, who was then the BJP’s in-charge for Uttarakhand, as the alleged VIP.
Sanawar came into the spotlight after an audio clip, purportedly recording a conversation between her and Suresh Rathore, surfaced. The conversation allegedly referred to a VIP in connection with Ankita’s murder.
Earlier this year, Gautam filed a defamation petition against the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Sanawar and others, accusing them of falsely linking him to the murder case. He alleged that Sanawar’s social media posts had wrongly identified him as the VIP. The controversy has continued since Gautam was appointed governor of Sikkim. Article 361 of the Constitution provides governors with protection from criminal proceedings while they hold office.
Sanawar had previously described the CBI investigation and her agreement to undergo the tests as a significant development.
“After our audio clips went viral in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case, a CBI investigation was ordered by the [Uttarakhand] chief minister [Pushkar Singh Dhami], with the probe being conducted by the CBI following the Union government’s approval. However, there was no trace of the CBI for nine months. On Sunday [October 18], the CBI questioned us at our residence for four hours, and we came under the ambit of the investigation. The only question they asked us was whether we were willing to undergo a narco test. We agreed to it. Accordingly, following the court’s directions, four CBI officers arrived at our residence in Govind Nagar at 8 pm today [October 21]. They obtained our signatures and asked us to appear in Dehradun the day after tomorrow at 10.30 am,” Sanawar was quoted as saying by PTI on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CBI has summoned Ashutosh Negi, a Uttarakhand-based journalist and petitioner in the murder case, for questioning in Delhi on Tuesday, according to Hindustan Times.
The timing of Sanawar’s arrest has drawn criticism from Congress MP and former Union minister Kumari Selja, who on Tuesday questioned why the police action came just before the scheduled proceedings concerning the narco-analysis test.
“Why is the BJP government so restless in trying to protect someone in the Ankita Bhandari murder case? Urmila Sanawar was ready for the narco test. Yesterday was supposed to be her narco test, but right before that, the BJP government filed a new case against her and had her arrested today,” Selja wrote on X.
She added: “This arrest raises serious questions about the intentions of the BJP government. Why was this action taken just before the narco test? This is a straightforward attempt to prevent the truth about the VIP’s role from coming out.”
Police have maintained that the arrest relates to a separate case involving alleged threats and extortion, while the narco-analysis proceedings concern the Bhandari murder investigation.
The questions raised by political leaders and others over the timing of the arrest have added another layer of controversy to a case in which the alleged role of a VIP has remained a central point of public scrutiny.
Uttarakhand Police arrested Sanawar from her residence in Govindnagar, in the Sadar Bazar area of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, October 25. She has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Sanawar was due to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday, October 26, in connection with the Bhandari murder case.
On Friday, October 23, she had agreed to undergo narco-analysis and polygraph tests, with the court scheduled to take up the matter again on Monday.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Singh Bhulla on Tuesday said the arrest was made in connection with a separate complaint registered at Ranipur police station on October 24.
“A case was registered against Urmila Sanawar at Ranipur Police Station on October 24. The sections invoked are 308(5) and 308(7), which correspond to Section 386 of the IPC. It is a sessions-trial case, and immediate arrest was warranted. Since the incident occurred and the case was registered on October 24, Urmila Sanawar was arrested. The phone used to issue the threat was also recovered from her residence. Following this, the honourable court remanded her to 14 days of judicial custody. As far as the narco-analysis test is concerned, that relates to a separate case. There is no problem with conducting the narco-analysis test,” Bhulla told news agency IANS.
According to reports, the Haridwar FIR followed a written complaint by Deepika Rathore, daughter of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore. She accused Sanawar of circulating obscene and defamatory material about her father and family on social media to damage their reputation.
The complaint also alleged that Sanawar demanded Rs 5 crore and the transfer of property associated with Ravidas Dham, besides threatening to kill her.
Sanawar has maintained that Suresh Rathore was her husband. Rathore, however, has repeatedly denied that they were married.
“She [Sanwar] called me the day before yesterday [Saturday] and told me that there is a Ravidas Peeth, and that I should get it transferred into her name by asking my father. She also demanded that I get Rs 5 crore in cash from my father for her. She made this demand and threatened that if I did not comply, she would have me killed. I was very pleased that the Uttarakhand Police listened to my complaint promptly this time and took immediate action, because such action was necessary,” Deepika Rathore told IANS on Tuesday.
“Whether it is a woman like me, another woman or a man, if anyone faces such behaviour, the person responsible should not be spared and immediate action should be taken against them. When she first met us, she had also filed cases against her own children and has filed cases against many other people. There are numerous cases against her,” she added.
A separate FIR was registered in Dehradun on Monday following a complaint by a man named Sagar. The complaint accused Sanawar of making obscene, indecent and defamatory remarks about Sikkim Governor Dushyant Kumar Gautam, BJP leader B.L. Santhosh and former district panchayat member Aarti Gaur, among others. It alleged that videos containing indecent remarks about a woman had been knowingly circulated in a public forum to damage the reputations of those named.
Police have invoked Sections 79, 352, 353 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to insulting the modesty of a woman, intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace, statements causing public mischief and defamation.
Ankita Bhandari was working as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh when she was murdered on September 18, 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, was convicted in the case along with resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta.
The Bhandari family has raised allegations concerning a purported “VIP” guest. Several accounts have claimed that Ankita was killed after refusing to provide “special services” to the guest, a euphemism for sex work. The family has identified Gautam, who was then the BJP’s in-charge for Uttarakhand, as the alleged VIP.
Sanawar came into the spotlight after an audio clip, purportedly recording a conversation between her and Suresh Rathore, surfaced. The conversation allegedly referred to a VIP in connection with Ankita’s murder.
Earlier this year, Gautam filed a defamation petition against the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Sanawar and others, accusing them of falsely linking him to the murder case. He alleged that Sanawar’s social media posts had wrongly identified him as the VIP. The controversy has continued since Gautam was appointed governor of Sikkim. Article 361 of the Constitution provides governors with protection from criminal proceedings while they hold office.
Sanawar had previously described the CBI investigation and her agreement to undergo the tests as a significant development.
“After our audio clips went viral in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case, a CBI investigation was ordered by the [Uttarakhand] chief minister [Pushkar Singh Dhami], with the probe being conducted by the CBI following the Union government’s approval. However, there was no trace of the CBI for nine months. On Sunday [October 18], the CBI questioned us at our residence for four hours, and we came under the ambit of the investigation. The only question they asked us was whether we were willing to undergo a narco test. We agreed to it. Accordingly, following the court’s directions, four CBI officers arrived at our residence in Govind Nagar at 8 pm today [October 21]. They obtained our signatures and asked us to appear in Dehradun the day after tomorrow at 10.30 am,” Sanawar was quoted as saying by PTI on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CBI has summoned Ashutosh Negi, a Uttarakhand-based journalist and petitioner in the murder case, for questioning in Delhi on Tuesday, according to Hindustan Times.
The timing of Sanawar’s arrest has drawn criticism from Congress MP and former Union minister Kumari Selja, who on Tuesday questioned why the police action came just before the scheduled proceedings concerning the narco-analysis test.
“Why is the BJP government so restless in trying to protect someone in the Ankita Bhandari murder case? Urmila Sanawar was ready for the narco test. Yesterday was supposed to be her narco test, but right before that, the BJP government filed a new case against her and had her arrested today,” Selja wrote on X.
She added: “This arrest raises serious questions about the intentions of the BJP government. Why was this action taken just before the narco test? This is a straightforward attempt to prevent the truth about the VIP’s role from coming out.”
Police have maintained that the arrest relates to a separate case involving alleged threats and extortion, while the narco-analysis proceedings concern the Bhandari murder investigation.
The questions raised by political leaders and others over the timing of the arrest have added another layer of controversy to a case in which the alleged role of a VIP has remained a central point of public scrutiny.
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