Opposition parties protest Dushyant Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor

File image of members and supporters of Congress Seva Dal holding a candle march demanding justice in the Ankita Bhandari murder case | Photo Credit: PTI

Opposition parties in Sikkim have opposed the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the State’s Governor.

The Sikkim unit of Congress and the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) said President Droupadi Murmu should recall Mr. Gautam until the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its probe into the Ankita Bhandari murder case.

Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices were convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.

After party members staged a protest in Gangtok on Saturday (October 17, 2026), State Congress president Gopal Chhetri cited reports and said the resort owner forced Bhandari to provide “sexual service” to a VIP.