Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Uttarakhand Receptionist Murder: Congress Women Seek Justice Over VIP Allegations
More than 100 women from the Congress party protested in Dehradun.
They carried rakhis and wanted to tie them to the chief minister as a way of asking for justice.
The protest concerned the 2022 murder of a teenage receptionist at the Vanantra resort.
Congress members said some powerful people, called VIPs, may have been connected to the case.
They said the government should reveal the Central Bureau of Investigation’s findings.
Police have said they found no involvement by VIPs.
Three people, including the resort owner’s son, are serving life sentences for the murder.
On the same day, police registered a separate case against Urmila Sanawar over allegations made on social media.
Over 100 Congress women marched to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s Dehradun residence before Raksha Bandhan.
Protesters demanded action against alleged VIPs linked to the 2022 murder of a Vanantra resort receptionist.
Police and the government have maintained that no VIP was involved, while Congress cited alleged evidence of a sexual-services angle.
The receptionist’s former employer’s son, Pulkit Arya, and two associates are serving life sentences for the killing.
Police separately booked former television actress Urmila Sanawar over social-media allegations, which Dushyant Kumar Gautam has denied.
- Who
- Over 100 Congress women, led by All India Mahila Congress state president Jyoti Rautela, protested against the Uttarakhand government; police also booked former television actress Urmila Sanawar.
- What
- The protesters demanded justice and action against alleged VIPs connected to the murder of a teenage resort receptionist.
- When
- The protest and police case were reported on Thursday, one day before Raksha Bandhan; the murder occurred in 2022.
- Where
- The protest took place in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, outside Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s residence; the victim worked at the Vanantra resort in Rishikesh.
- Why
- Congress said the government had failed to act against alleged VIPs and had not disclosed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s findings.
Congress and Allegation Supporters
Police and Accused Figures
Possible VIP involvement
Congress and Allegation Supporters
Congress leaders and a friend of the receptionist alleged that powerful VIPs sought sexual services and may have been connected to the killing.
Police and Accused Figures
Police allegedly did not pursue this angle and declared that no VIP was involved; Dushyant Kumar Gautam denied the allegations.
Government accountability
Congress and Allegation Supporters
Congress said the BJP government should rise above party politics, arrest the alleged VIPs and reveal the Central Bureau of Investigation’s findings.
Police and Accused Figures
The report does not provide a public response from the chief minister’s office, while police blocked the protesters from reaching the residence and accepted their memorandum through an official.
Allegations against Urmila Sanawar
Congress and Allegation Supporters
Sanawar claimed that Arti Gaur was the second wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore and that Rathore had told her which BJP leaders wanted special services.
Police and Accused Figures
Gaur complained that Sanawar was trying to malign her and others on social media; Sanawar was subsequently booked by police. Gautam also denied allegations and filed a defamation case in the Delhi High Court.
- Protest size
- More than 100 Congress women participated.
- Protest location
- Outside the Uttarakhand chief minister’s residence in Dehradun.
- Case year
- The receptionist was murdered in 2022.
- Convictions
- Pulkit Arya and two associates are serving life terms for the killing.
- Unresolved allegation
- A friend’s evidence was cited as suggesting the receptionist was killed after refusing sexual services to alleged VIPs.
- Police position
- Police declared that no VIP was involved, according to the report.
- Separate police case
- Dehradun police booked Urmila Sanawar after a complaint alleging social-media attempts to malign people’s reputations.