In an attempt to seek justice for Ankita Bhandari, two teenage sisters from Almora in Uttarakhand wrote a letter in blood to President Droupadi Murmu.
Ankita Bhandari was the 19-year-old girl whose body was recovered from a canal in 2022. She was working as a receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh from where she went missing after only a few days into her job. Three men, including the resort's owner, were arrested in connection with the incident.
The letter was sent to the President through Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kashipur Abhay Pratap Singh.
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Contents of the letter
In their letter, the sisters urge intervention in the case and a copy of it has gone viral on social media.
The sisters, Kusum Lata Baudai (19) and her younger sister Sanjana (15), a Class 10 student, said that they were deeply troubled by reports that a VIP's name has again surfaced in the case.
"The daughters of Mother India have the right to feel safe," the sisters say in their letter while also asking if the life of an ordinary girl was so cheap. "Are VIPs allowed to commit crimes freely?" they asked.
In their appeal, the teens demanded immediate arrest of all those involved, irrespective of their status.
"India is a justice-loving country and you are not only the first person of the country, but also a woman and our guardian. Hence, we request you to intervene in this matter and provide justice by punishing all involved, including the VIP," the letter stated.
'Such crimes shake society...'
The sisters said that delay in serving justice had deeply affected them and their friends, adding that such crimes shake the society and faith is judiciary gets hampered. The justice delivery system is seen as a powerful tool but when such crimes go unpunished, it seems as though the powerful ones are being protected.
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The sisters, in their letter, echoed for punishment regardless of the accused's stature.
'We informed our parents before...'
According to the Times of India, the sisters resorted to writing the letter in blood because their protests and repeated memorandums failed to elicit any response. "My sister is very young, but she insisted on writing this letter. I informed our parents before taking this step. The way 'didi' was murdered at the Rishikesh resort and the delay in justice compelled us to write directly to the President," Kusum said.
Widespread attention
Calling it a struggle at large for women's safety, women's rights groups said the fact that schoolgirls were forced to pen the letter in blood was reflective of the disappointment in the system.
Meanwhile, protests across Uttarakhand heightened, with people demanding strict action for the VIP involved.
