A day after Ankita Bhandari’s parents met senior CBI officials, the agency’s team on Saturday questioned former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore at the BHEL guest house in Haridwar.Ankita’s parents met senior CBI officials on October 16 in the national capital and sought narco-tests on the former legislator and actor Urmila Sanawar. They also gave a letter, saying their audio recording, which recently went viral, alleged involvement of a senior BJP leader in the case, CBI sources said.Ankita was a 19-year-old resort receptionist whose body was found in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal in 2022. Her parents were earlier detained while protesting near India Gate against BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam’s appointment as Sikkim Governor. Her family has been alleging that Gautam played a key role in Ankita’s death.During the detention, her father had issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Centre to cancel Gautam’s appointment. Ankita, who worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Rishikesh, was killed on September 18, 2022. Her body was recovered from the Chilla canal four days later. Resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, and two accomplices have been convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment.The case hogged the political spotlight over allegations that an unidentified VIP was linked to the crime. Ankita’s family and activists have demanded an investigation into the alleged VIP angle, with Gautam’s name being raised in connection with the allegations. Gautam has denied the accusations and initiated defamation proceedings against them.The Congress has claimed that the appointment was aimed at shielding Gautam, arguing that a Governor cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings while holding office. A former national general secretary of the BJP, Gautam had served as party’s in-charge for Uttarakhand.Oppn party holds protests in Sikkim against Gautam’s appointmentThe opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) on Saturday demanded that the CBI inquiry into the murder of Ankita Bhandari be completed before Governor-designate Dushyant Gautam assumes office in Sikkim, holding candlelight vigils across four locations in the state to express solidarity with the victim’s family. — PTI