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Actress Urmila Sanawar Arrested Over INR5 Crore Extortion Complaint

By Drooid · Oct 28, 2026, 04:27 UTC · How we work

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Summary

Actress Urmila Sanawar was arrested by Haridwar police on extortion and defamation charges.
Deepika Rathore, daughter of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, filed a INR5 crore extortion complaint.
The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Sanawar on Oct 21, 2026, a day before her scheduled narco-analysis on Oct 23, 2026.
Sanawar released audio clips alleging BJP leader Dushyut Kumar Gautam was linked to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a CBI probe after the recordings went viral.

Summary

Sanawar filed a bail plea before the additional chief judicial magistrate, with the next hearing set for Oct 29.
She was remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody in a regular women’s cell, where relatives visited.
Haridwar SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar said the arrest was not to block narco-analysis, citing up to ten-year penalties.
Sanawar announced she will contest the Jwalapur Uttarakhand assembly seat, claiming to be MLA Suresh Rathore’s second legitimate wife.

History

The 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Melendez-Diaz barred the use of forensic reports without live testimony, extending the Court’s earlier 2004 Crawford decision that protected defendants against compelled scientific evidence. That precedent mirrors a worldwide move since the early 2000s to restrict coercive interrogation techniques, prompting scrutiny of the CBI’s narco-analysis request in the recent Uttarakhand murder case involving BJP figure Dushyut Kumar Gautam.

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Historical Context

The 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Melendez-Diaz barred the use of forensic reports without live testimony, extending the Court’s earlier 2004 Crawford decision that protected defendants against compelled scientific evidence. That precedent mirrors a worldwide move since the early 2000s to restrict coercive interrogation techniques, prompting scrutiny of the CBI’s narco-analysis request in the recent Uttarakhand murder case involving BJP figure Dushyut Kumar Gautam.

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