Uttarakhand police have summoned the TV actress who has accused senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam of being the “mystery VIP” linked to the high-profile murder of a receptionist at a resort near Haridwar in 2022.
The police have plastered a notice on the door of the locked Saharanpur home of actress Urmila Sanawar, asking her to appear at Jwalapur police station in Haridwar to have her statement recorded.
Urmila is believed to have moved to an undisclosed location since posting several videos alleging the 19-year-old receptionist was murdered for refusing to provide
“special services” to Gautam, BJP national general secretary and party minder for
Uttarakhand.
The victim, a receptionist at the Vanantara resort, was killed and thrown into a canal in September 2022. Pulkit Arya — son of then BJP leader and resort owner Vinod Arya — is serving a life term for the murder along with two staff members. Vinod has been suspended from the party.
The government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) “to probe the entire case”. It’s unclear whether any case has been registered against Gautam, who contacted the state’s BJP chief minister after Urmila’s allegations, professed innocence, and demanded recovery of the “evidence” she claims to possess.
Four cases — of blackmail and defamation — have,
however, been registered against Urmila at four police stations in Haridwar. All
four complainants are linked to the BJP.
In a video posted on Wednesday, a weeping Urmila alleged the police might “kill” her and said the force was “hunting” for her instead of arresting Gautam.
A source close to Urmila told reporters in Dehradun on Thursday that the police were preparing to arrest her.
“Instead of probing her allegations, the government wants to put her in jail, recover the evidence she possesses against the BJP leaders and destroy it,” the source said, asking not to be identified.
Urmila had last month alleged that BJP leader Suresh Rathore, the former Jwalapur MLA, had “married” her four years ago without revealing he already had a wife.
The actress, who has now left Rathore, claims it was the ex-MLA who had revealed to her that Gautam was the “mystery VIP” linked to the receptionist’s murder.
She has alleged that when she initially wanted to move out of Rathore’s home after discovering he was already married, senior BJP leaders had dissuaded her by promising to field her from Jwalapur in the 2022 elections. However, it was Rathore who got the ticket again, and lost. He was last week suspended from the party after Urmila’s public claims.
The police have served a notice on Rathore asking him to appear at Jwalapur police station to have his statement recorded. His wife Ravindra Kaur, however, met police officers on Tuesday and gave it in writing that Rathore was away and would be back in a few days. Kaur claims her husband’s life is in danger and has demanded security.
Haridwar senior superintendent of police Pramendra Singh Dobal said: “The seven-member SIT will probe the entire case impartially.” He did not say whether Gautam was being probed.
Dharmendra Kumar, one of the complainants against Urmila, is the state president of the Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas Vishwa Mahapeeth. “She has made false allegations against Dushyant Gautam, international president of the Mahapeeth,” he told reporters. Gautam, who had threatened a defamation suit against Urmila, is yet to file one.
