New Delhi, 06 January (H.S.): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dushyant Gautam has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), seeking ₹2 crore in damages over allegations linking him to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari case. The court will hear the matter on Tuesday.

Gautam claims that on December 24, 2025, a video defaming him was uploaded on social media and went viral, falsely connecting him to the incident. He argues that the narrative in the video was fabricated and designed to tarnish his reputation.

In his petition, Gautam states that during the investigation into the Ankita Bhandari case, investigative agencies never mentioned his name. He has requested the court to order the removal of all content associating him with the case and to award ₹2 crore as compensation.

The petition further alleges that the campaign around the Ankita Bhandari case falls under the category of fake news and is being exploited for political gain.The controversy reignited recently when Umrao Sanawar, wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, claimed in a viral video that Ankita Bhandari was pressured to have sexual relations with a senior BJP leader, whom Rathore later identified as Dushyant Gautam.

However, Rathore later clarified that the video was created using artificial intelligence and was circulated to malign the BJP.Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Police have registered multiple FIRs against Umrao Sanawar and Suresh Rathore for spreading misinformation related to the Ankita Bhandari case.

The original incident dates back to September 2022, when 19-year-old receptionist Ankita Bhandari was murdered at a resort in Uttarakhand. She was allegedly pressured by resort owner Pulkit Arya to have sexual relations with a guest.

Pulkit Arya’s father was a former BJP leader. Ankita’s body was recovered from a canal, and a trial court sentenced Pulkit Arya and two others to life imprisonment.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar