Bhopal:
Amid protest from various quarters against his appointment Dushyant Kumar Gautam, the governor-designate of Sikkim, arrived at the state capital on Sunday to be sworn in as the new governor of the state, as per media reports from Sikkim.
The 68-year-old ex-national general secretary of BJP who has been a member of Rajya Sabha arrived at Gangtok’s Burtuk helipad where he was received by the chief minister Prem Singh Tamang and other dignitaries of the state.
The swearing in ceremony is expected to take place on Monday.
The protestors from various quarters and also parents of Uttrakhand girl Ankita Bhandari are demanding justice for her and revoking of Gautam’s appointment as Governor of Sikkim.
Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old girl of Uttarakhand employed as a receptionist at an influential BJP leader’s resort in Pauri Garhwal district, was murdered in the year 2022 for resisting the attempts of Pulkit Arya, son of the BJP leader and his accomplices, to force her into a flesh trade.
CPIML Liberation held a protest in Delhi on Sunday demanding justice for Ankita Bhandari and sacking of Gautam as Sikkim governor.
National president of Indian Youth Congress Uday Bhanu Chib shared a poster- JUSTICE FOR ANKITA BHANDARI- and demanded “accountability and the removal of Dushyant Gautam as Sikkim Governor.”
Activist Yogita Bhayana also demanded revoking of Gautam’s appointment as the governor.
In Sikkim too protests were held by several quarters including youths over the appointment.
In 2025, protest erupted in Uttarakhand against Dushyant Kumar Gautam, the then state BJP affairs in charge of Uttarakhand after a former BJP MLA in a conversation with a woman mentioned one “Gattu” as the unnamed VIP in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case.
The woman released videos and also an audio clip of the conversation she had with the former MLA alleging a senior leader known as “Gattu” was the VIP linked to the case.
Later, on social media Dushyant Kumar Gautam was referred to as Gattu. Ankita’s parents named Gautam as the VIP connected to the murder case.
On his part, Gautam termed the allegations against him that he was the VIP who demanded services at the resort, as false and malicious and also conspiracy against him to malign his image.
In December 2025, he wrote to Uttarakhand government urging the govt to remove social media/content in relation to the allegations against him.
He also filed a complaint with a police station in Dehradun in this regard. Besides, he filed a defamation suit with the court against the woman who released the video and audio clips, the former MLA and certain others.
