Ankita Bhandari Murder Case: Police have arrested former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore in the alleged audio controversy related to the famous Ankita Bhandari murder case of Uttarakhand. Dehradun Police has taken this action on the basis of allegations that an attempt was made to link the names of senior BJP leaders with the Ankita Bhandari murder case through an audio clip circulated on social media. According to the police, a joint team of Dalanwala police station and Special Operation Group (SOG) took action in Buggawala area of Haridwar district and detained Suresh Rathore. After his arrest, he has been kept in police custody for further legal process.
The matter escalated due to the complaint of BJP state in-charge
This entire controversy started with the complaint of BJP state in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam. He had alleged that some audio and video clips related to Suresh Rathore and Urmila Sanawar are being made viral on social media in a planned manner. Gautam said that the purpose of these alleged clips was to damage his and other senior BJP leaders’ image and to bring political defamation. In this case, a woman named Aarti Gaur had also lodged a complaint with the police. Both the complainants alleged that the material circulated on social media was completely misleading and fabricated, which was shared with the sole intention of tarnishing the reputation.
Suresh Rathore called the allegations false
Former MLA Suresh Rathore had termed all the allegations against him as baseless and a political conspiracy. He had claimed that he had no connection with this alleged controversial content and that he was being deliberately targeted. Due to this, Rathore had challenged four FIRs registered in Dehradun and Haridwar in the Uttarakhand High Court. He had demanded the court to quash these cases.
High Court gave partial relief
A single bench of the Nainital-based Uttarakhand High Court provided partial relief to Suresh Rathore during the hearing of the case. A bench of Justice Rakesh Thapliyal quashed two of the four FIRs, but refused to quash the remaining two cases. The court clarified that the complaints filed by Dushyant Kumar Gautam and Aarti Gaur prima facie show elements of a serious crime. Therefore, an impartial and detailed investigation into these matters is necessary.
The High Court directed the police to continue investigation on both the complaints. The court said that linking a person’s name with a heinous crime without solid basis and damaging his image through social media is a serious matter. After the investigation was approved by the court, the police intensified the action and arrested former MLA Suresh Rathore. Now all eyes are on further investigation and legal process in this case.
