Court orders narco, polygraph tests of actor in Ankita Bhandari murder case

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Actor Urmila Sanawar had given her voluntary consent for narco-analysis and polygraph test in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case investigation. File | Photo Credit: PTI

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Dehradun on Friday (November 13, 2026) approved narco-analysis and polygraph tests for television actress Urmila Sanawar in connection with the 2022 murder of Ankita Bhandari.

Ms. Sanawar’s lawyer, Shivani Tomar, told the media that her client had consented to both tests and that her statement had been recorded in court. She added that the tests would be conducted in Gujarat. A medical examination of Ms. Sanawar is likely to be conducted by the third week of November, following which the schedule for the tests will be confirmed.

Ms. Sanawar had earlier appeared before the Dehradun court on October 26, after giving her consent to undergo the tests.

She was arrested in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on October 25, in connection with a separate case. A fresh FIR was registered against her in Dehradun a day later over alleged defamatory remarks against Sikkim Governor Dushyant Kumar Gautam and other BJP leaders.

She was subsequently granted bail by a Haridwar court in a separate defamation and extortion case.

Ms. Bhandari, a receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, was murdered in September 2022 by resort owner Pulkit Arya, son of a former BJP leader, and his two aides. All three were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025.

The case drew widespread attention amid allegations that Ms. Bhandari was killed after refusing to provide “special services” to a VIP expected to visit the resort that week. Her parents have alleged that Mr. Gautam was the VIP in question and that his political influence prevented his name from being included in the investigation.

Ms. Sanawar has also claimed that she came to know about the alleged involvement of a politically influential VIP in the murder. The CBI had issued notices to her and former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore in connection with an audio recording referring to the alleged VIP link. Both had consented to undergo narco-analysis and polygraph tests in October.

Mr. Gautam has denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against several individuals, including the Uttarakhand Congress, earlier this year.

The case was handed over to CBI in February this year.

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