Overview
- Police detained Rathore at his Buggawala office in Haridwar, brought him to Dalanwala police station in Dehradun, formally arrested him on Monday and a court remanded him to 14 days' judicial custody at Sudhowala District Jail.
- Authorities say evidence and witness statements tie Rathore to audio and video material circulated on social media that allegedly identified BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam as the ‘VIP’ connected to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder.
- The Uttarakhand High Court on June 4 quashed two of four FIRs against Rathore but allowed investigations in the two remaining FIRs to proceed, a decision police say left legal room for the current arrest.
- Complainants including Dushyant Gautam and Aarti Gaur filed formal complaints accusing Rathore and others of creating fabricated material to damage reputations, and police say the inquiry uncovered grounds to examine possible extortion.
- The matter stems from Ankita Bhandari’s September 2022 killing at a Rishikesh-area resort, and Rathore’s arrest is likely to deepen intra-party tensions and keep public scrutiny on how viral social media material affects criminal probes.