CBI summons journalist in Ankita Bhandari murder case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Uttarakhand-based journalist Ashutosh Negi for questioning in New Delhi regarding the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari. Negi, who was the primary petitioner seeking a CBI probe into the case, is expected to appear at the CBI headquarters.

The investigation into the death of Bhandari, a 19-year-old resort receptionist killed in September 2022, has recently focused on the alleged involvement of an “unknown VIP”. This follows the arrest of Urmila Sanawar in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Sanawar was apprehended by Uttarakhand Police in connection with a separate FIR involving alleged defamatory social media remarks, occurring just before she was scheduled to appear in a CBI court regarding the murder investigation.

The CBI took over the probe in February 2024. The case remains a high-profile matter in Uttarakhand following widespread public outrage after Bhandari's body was recovered from the Chilla Shakti Canal a week after her disappearance.