Sikkim’s newly appointed Governor, Dinesh Kumar Gautam, took the oath of office at Lok Bhawan in Gangtok. Several senior officials and prominent personalities of the state were present on the occasion. Dinesh Kumar Gautam is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Before being appointed Governor, he served as the party’s National Secretary and was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from Haryana. The oath was administered by Justice Mohammad Miftak, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, cabinet ministers, and members of the state assembly were present at the swearing-in ceremony. His name has been linked to the murder of Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand. Consequently, Ankita Bhandari’s parents and Congress leaders had raised the issue of not appointing Dinesh Gautam as Governor until the CBI investigation into the matter was completed.

Following Dinesh Gautam’s swearing-in, the Congress party has sharply criticized the BJP. Congress MP Kamari Shilaja stated during a press conference, “A person whose name is linked to a major scandal is being installed in Sikkim’s Raj Bhavan. The Ankita Bhandari case shook the entire nation, but she has not received justice to this day. In this matter, audio recordings of BJP people emerged, and a VIP’s name was mentioned.” She further stated, “We are being told that the CBI is investigating, but the CBI has never examined all aspects of this case. Dinesh Gautam, whose name came up as the VIP, has not been questioned; instead, he is being installed in the Raj Bhavan so that no legal action can be taken against him.”

Ganesh Godiyal, State President of Uttarakhand Congress, commented on Dinesh Gautam’s swearing-in, saying, “The person who was questioned in the Ankita Bhandari murder case has been appointed Governor of Sikkim. Yesterday, I heard his statement in which he claimed that the culprits in this case have already been punished. However, this is incomplete information; those who were punished are small fry. Ankita had messaged a friend saying that pressure was being put on her to serve a certain VIP, that her life was in danger, and shortly after, Ankita was murdered.” He added, “The BJP government made every kind of excuse in this matter. They also claimed there was no VIP. However, it was their own party members who alleged that the person who has become Governor is the alleged VIP. The alleged VIP was appointed Governor of Sikkim precisely so that he could not be questioned. We strongly oppose this. On the other hand, the BJP, who are trying to clear their name, should tell Uttarakhand who that VIP was?”

Congress also posted a video on its official ‘X’ handle, sharply criticizing the BJP government. In the video’s caption, the party wrote, “The BJP’s style, character, and face.” The video shows the swearing-in of Dinesh Kumar, the alleged accused in the Ankita Bhandari murder, on one side, while Ankita’s parents cry out demanding justice on the other. The party labeled Ankita’s parents as “Family crying for justice” and Dinesh Gautam as “Accused Dinesh taking oath” in the video.