Actress Urmila Sanawar Arrested Just Before CBI Court Appearance
Uttarakhand Police arrest actress Urmila Sanawar in Saharanpur amid the Ankita Bhandari murder case and a separate defamation complaint.
In a dramatic turn of events, the Uttarakhand Police have arrested actress Urmila Sanawar from her residence in Saharanpur. The arrest took place on Sunday, coinciding with the time she was expected to appear before a CBI court regarding the high-profile Ankita Bhandari murder case.
The Grounds for Arrest
While Sanawar has been linked to the Ankita Bhandari investigation, this specific arrest stems from a different legal battle. According to the Uttarakhand Police, a case was filed at the Ranipur Kotwali police station in Haridwar on the night of October 24.
The complaint was lodged by Deepika Rathore, the daughter of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore. The complaint alleges that Sanawar posted obscene, objectionable, and defamatory content on social media targeting Deepika Rathore and her family, with the explicit intent of tarnishing their social reputation.
The CBI Connection and the Narco Test
The timing of the arrest is particularly striking because Sanawar was already under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She has been embroiled in controversy surrounding a viral audio clip and alleged references to a "VIP" involved in the murder of Ankita Bhandari.
On Wednesday, the CBI had served a formal notice to Sanawar at her Saharanpur home. This notice required her to appear before the agency to record her consent or refusal for a narco-analysis test. Sanawar had previously shared that a CBI team visited her residence following a four-hour questioning session that took place on October 18.
"The CBI questioned me on the 18th. Today, I received a call from a CBI officer asking if I was at home. Upon arriving at my residence, they served me a notice for a narco-analysis test... This notice is related to the audio clip that went viral in the Ankita Bhandari murder case," Sanawar told ANI.
The official notice directed her to appear on October 23 to determine if she would voluntarily undergo the narcotics examination.
Background: The Ankita Bhandari Case
The overarching shadow over these developments is the murder of Ankita Bhandari, which occurred in September 2022. Bhandari worked as a receptionist at a resort near Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The case has remained a subject of intense public interest due to allegations of a cover-up and the purported involvement of influential figures.
The tension surrounding the case has escalated recently, particularly following the appointment of Dushyant Gautam, the former BJP Uttarakhand in-charge, as the Governor of Sikkim, further fueling the row over the alleged "VIP" connection mentioned in the viral audio clips.