On 12 October, Rashtrapati Bhavan announced a six-state governors’ reshuffle. Dushyant Gautam was named Governor of Sikkim, while Om Prakash Mathur moved to Keralam. Gautam is a former BJP national general secretary and ex-president of the party’s Scheduled Caste Morcha.
The objection to Gautam’s appointment stems from the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari, a resort receptionist in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district. The resort owner and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Public anger later turned to an alleged “VIP” said to have been shielded. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recommended a CBI probe on 9 January 2026, and the agency registered a case against an unidentified VIP. The victim’s family and activists have linked Gautam to that VIP angle.
Gautam denies it. He filed a defamation suit, and the Delhi High Court passed an interim order directing removal of social media posts linking him to the murder.
The backlash, and why it reaches Gangtok
The campaign has moved quickly. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi visited the parents’ India Gate protest on 14 October, where Bhandari’s family urged President Murmu to put the appointment on hold until the CBI finishes its probe.
The parents were later detained and released, and that activist Yogita Bhayana warned of intensified protests if demands weren’t met by Friday, which is today. In Dehradun, the Uttarakhand Congress held a silent protest, with its president alleging the appointment is an attempt to save Gautam because no case can be registered against a governor.
That last point is the constitutional crux, and it is what has travelled to Sikkim.
The Sikkim University Students’ Association has flagged concerns over the immunity Article 361 gives Governors and called for transparency.
There is no suggestion from the reports that any case is being filed against him, so the argument is about the future ability to investigate or prosecute a sitting Governor, not about anything done in Sikkim.
Local reaction is split along familiar lines. SDF Chelli Front vice-president Komal Chamling asked where the state’s leaders stand on women’s safety and accountability.
Youth leader Prakash Lee said Sikkim should not be treated as a “dumping ground for controversy.”
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang Golay, whose SKM government is an NDA partner, has instead welcomed Gautam and expressed hope for his guidance toward a more prosperous Sikkim.
Also Read: Delhi’s October: The protest that could not gather
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