People from across India write to U’khand guv over ‘rising crime against women’ in state

Dehradun: Concerned over increasing violence against women, around 52 citizen groups and 100 individuals from across the country have written a letter to Uttarakhand governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd) expressing "grave concern regarding recent events in the state".
"Uttarakhand has always been known for peace, harmony, and popular movements. However, hate violence is now being spread to divert attention from crimes against women and the involvement of politicians in such incidents.While lakhs of people are fighting for the safety and rights of women, other crimes are being promoted in the state to cover up these events," the letter read.
Citing instances of atrocities against women in Rudrapur, Dehradun, Salt, and Lalkuan, the citizens urged the governor to direct the govt to "establish the rule of law" and take strict action against the perpetrators of crimes against women and hate crimes, "regardless of the religion, caste, or political affiliation of the culprits".
"Most concerning is that the alleged rapists in both the Salt and Lalkuan incidents are ruling BJP leaders. Initially, the police did not arrest them, and now more lenient sections of the law are being applied to shield them," they said in the letter.
One of the signees, Ram Kumar, a Dalit rights activist from UP, said, "There has been a wave of hate violence in Uttarakhand, involving the same individuals and organisations as last year. It is not coincidental that these acts followed the exposure of sexual violence incidents involving ruling party leaders. This injustice will ultimately affect the most oppressed people in society. Blaming outsiders or minorities for all crimes against women is a grave injustice to the constitution."