The arrest comes days after Rathore and Sanawar consented before a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Dehradun on Friday to undergo polygraph and narco-analysis tests as part of the ongoing investigation into the Pauri Garhwal receptionist murder case.
In her complaint filed at Ranipur police station in Haridwar, Suresh Rathore’s daughter, Deepika Rathore, alleged that Sanawar contacted her through a WhatsApp call and demanded ₹5 crore. She further alleged that Sanawar demanded that her father transfer the Ravidas Dham property into Sanawar’s name and threatened to kill her family if the demands were not met.
Deepika also accused Sanawar of damaging her family’s reputation by telling the media that her father had illicit relationships. According to the complaint, Sanawar also threatened to beat Rathore with slippers on the court premises.
Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR against Sanawar on Sunday under Sections 308(5)(7), relating to extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt; Section 79, concerning words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman; Section 356(3), prescribing punishment for defamation; and Section 356(2), concerning the printing or engraving of material known to be defamatory, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The FIR also invoked Sections 4, prohibiting the publication or distribution of material containing indecent representation of women, and 10, concerning procedural rule-making powers under the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Singh said a police team led by the Ranipur police station inspector conducted a raid at Sanawar’s residence in Saharanpur on Sunday and took her into custody. Police also recovered the mobile phone allegedly used in committing the offence from her possession.
On Friday, while appearing before the CBI court to give her consent for a narco-analysis test, Sanawar made claims about the Pauri Garhwal murder case and other alleged crimes. “If my narco test is conducted on camera, all the secrets behind the Pauri Garhwal murder and other crimes buried inside me will be exposed,” she told reporters.
When asked about Rathore refusing to acknowledge her as his wife, Sanawar claimed she would hit him with her slipper inside the court premises.
The latest developments come after the victim’s parents demanded an investigation into the alleged involvement of a “VIP in the case.” The controversy intensified after Sanawar released a purported telephonic recording of a conversation with Rathore that linked Dushyant Kumar Gautam, then the BJP’s Uttarakhand in-charge and currently the Governor of Sikkim, to the case.
The audio clip triggered widespread public outrage across Uttarakhand, prompting the state government to order a CBI probe on January 11. Political tensions escalated further following Gautam’s appointment as Governor, with the victim’s parents staging protests in New Delhi and demanding the cancellation of his appointment.
The 19-year-old victim, a resident of Pauri Garhwal district, worked as a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Yamkeshwar near Rishikesh. She was murdered on September 18, 2022, by resort owner Pulkit Arya, the son of then BJP leader Vinod Arya, along with two resort staff members, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.
In May 2025, a trial court in Kotdwar convicted all three accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Sanawar’s arrest adds a new development to the ongoing investigation and the controversy surrounding the alleged VIP connection in the case, as police pursue the extortion allegations and the CBI continues its probe into the receptionist’s murder.
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