The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No stopping crime
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 28
January 23, 2009 - Gang rape of a minor girl rocks Dehradun. Daughter of a government official and student of class X was gang-raped by five motorcycle-borne youth.

March 13, 2009 - Rape of a 14-year-old girl in Dehradun comes to light. Incident raises question mark over the safety of women in the state capital.

May 23, 2009 - A 19-year-old girl, Anshu Nautiyal, brutally murdered. The mutilated body was found in a gunny bag near District Magistrate Amit Singh Negi’s residence.

If these incidents are not sufficient to conclude that crime is on the rise in Uttarakhand, then one must go through the statistical data compiled by the Uttarakhand Police Department, which clearly mentions that during the first five months this year, cases pertaining to serious crime like rape and dowry deaths had witnessed an increase in the state.

As per the data available with The Tribune, the crime graph in the state is on its high and except for murder cases, which recorded a decline as compared to the previous years, most other crimes including rape, dowry deaths, dacoity, loot and burglary have risen.

The failure of policemen in the prevention of crime has once again raised questions over the effective functioning of the police department.

Recently, in order to check increasing crime, the state police took several initiatives and also introduced beat policing system but this has failed to improve the situation on ground level.

According to the figures from January 1 to May 31, the cases of crime of serious nature, registered in all 13 districts, are more as compared to the corresponding period last year.

The total number of rape cases registered by the police till May 31 this year stands at 40, an increase of 12 as compared to corresponding period last year.

“It is really unfortunate that in Doon, once considered a safe city for women, today girls can’t go alone. The recent gang-rape incidents had created terror among girls. The police seems to be helpless in preventing such incidents,” rued Shikha Gupta, a resident of Dalanwala.

Says M.A.Ganapathy, IG, Garhwal, “In reality, most rape cases pertain to the elopement of minor girls. And as per law in the case of elopement, even if there is sexual intercourse with consent, the police has to register a case of rape because of the involvement of the minor girl.”

He added that the percentage of the cases wherein the girl is ‘forcibly’ raped is minimal.

According to the figures, dowry deaths in the state have also recorded an upward trend. Despite efforts of the state police and so much emphasis on the women helpline, dowry death cases are increasing every year.

From January 1 to May 31, 2007, the number of dowry deaths that came to light stood at 14. The figure almost doubled last year and till May 31 this year, as many as 29 women were killed for dowry.

“Dowry deaths falls in that category of crime which is extremely difficult to prevent,” said Ganapathy, while adding that the police was trying its best to resolve marital disputes at the women helpline.

“But the problem lies in the fact that a mere one per cent cases of marital dispute come to the women helpline.

“Most dowry death cases are reported from rural areas. We make earnest efforts but it is practically very difficult to prevent such crime,” he added.

Even cases of dacoity, loot and burglary are on the rise. From 184 such cases reported for the period of first five months last year, in 2009, the number of cases has gone up to 204.

“In wake of the spurt in burglary and loot incidents, no one seems safe in Dehradun. It is extremely unfortunate that thieves are not at all scared of the law and there had been several incidents wherein they had struck in broad daylight,” said Rajan Kumar, a shopkeeper on Rajpur Road.

Furthermore, though the police had solved a majority of such cases, there is a general sentiment among the masses that the police must take concrete measures to check crime.

While other heinous crime registered an increase, the number of murder cases had witnessed a downward trend.

SP (City) NA Bharne refuted that crime was on the increase. He said that crime in Uttarakhand had come down in past 10 years.

“You must compare the crime rate before the formation of Uttarakhand and afterwards. There is sharp dip in crime,” he claimed.

However, when confronted that if the crime rate had gone down after the formation of separate state, why crime figures have been on the rise for past three years, he said, “This year, we have relieved policemen of UP cadre. The process of new recruitments is on. Very soon, the state police will stabilise and get into full command to check crime.”

Interestingly, notwithstanding the fact that the crime graph is witnessing an upward trend, recently a study regarding community response to police in Uttarakhand had concluded that that the law and order situation is good in the state.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) has strongly condemned the state government for increasing incidents of crime.

The state president of the Congress Yashpal Arya alleged that the law and order situation in the state has collapsed. He added that the state machinery has miserably failed to prevent crime.

“The statistics clearly indicate that the fear of the police does not exist in the minds of the lawbreakers,” asserted Arya.

Fishy business this !
Thousands of fish have been found dead in a stretch of 10 km in Khoh river due to alleged poisoning of water by pesticides
Kamal Joshi

Kotdwar (Pauri Garhwal), June 28
Thousands of fish have been found dead in Khoh River — the main source of water in Garhwal foothills — at Kotdwar in Pauri Garhwal district of the state. Forest officials suspect that it is a case of poisoning of water.

Samples of water as well as dead fish have been sent for pathological test to the Fisheries Department of Pant Nagar University. The local administration has also alerted water supply authorities about any possibility of poisoning of water sources.

On Saturday, when people of Kodwar saw thousands of dead fish on the surface of Khoh river water in a stretch of 10 kilometres between Durga Devi Temple and Siddhbali complex, they immediately brought the matter to the notice of Forest Department officials. Initially, officials said the fish were dying due to unusually hot weather and
lack of water in the river. However, by afternoon when the number of dead fish increased, a thorough search of the area was conducted to find any possible clues.

Forest officials finally found an empty bottle of pesticide “Thiodine Indo-sulphas” near Tod Gadhera rivulet. The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Nishant Varma said it was suspected that this poison was used to kill the fish. However, the motive has not been ascertained yet.

Late in the evening, Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Shrikant Chandola also visited Kotdwar to look into the matter. He said the Forest Department has set up an enquiry committee in this regard.

He added that the place was also a picnic spot and it was possible that some anti-social elements poisoned the water.

Chandola also asked the police and local administration to ensure that such incidents do not recur. He informed that forest department has taken the incident very seriously and another set of samples is being sent to Gujarat for tests, which has one of the best labs in the country.

Meanwhile, as soon as the news spread, residents of Kotdwar town rushed to the spot to collect fish for eating purpose and officials had a tough time in convincing them that the fish were poisoned.

The district adminstration also alerted the Jal Nigam, as water from the river is supplied for drinking purposes as well. The Nigam was asked to take necessary steps in this regard.

Executive engineer, Jal Nigam, RMS Bist said samples of the stored water from tanks have been taken, before emptying them. Now they were collecting fresh water for drinking water supply.

Notably, as the area falls in the “Elephant corridor” between Rajaji National Park and Corbett National Park, elephants also come here to drink water. To safeguard them, forest officials have been deputed who would fire in the air to scare away the elephants and prevent them from drinking the poisoned water.

Kotdwar Sub-Divisional Magistrate GC Gunwant said they have raided fish-sellers of the town so that they don’t sell the poisoned fish. Anyone found guilty would be booked, he said.

Cyber cafés flout norms
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 28
Notwithstanding the directions issued by the police department to cyber café owners in Dehradun to maintain a database of Internet users, very few cyber café owners are complying with the orders.

Showing scant regard to the instructions issued by Dehradun SSP Amit Kumar Sinha in this regard last year, a majority of the cyber café owners do
not maintain any ‘log in’ and ‘log out’ registers.

After the Jaipur serial blasts in 2008, an e-mail was sent to various news channels from a cyber café in Sahibabad (UP). In wake of increased terrorist activities and hoax mails, some state governments across India had already ordered cyber café owners to confirm the identity of users through identity cards besides maintaining a detailed register of visitors.

Last year, the Dehradun police had issued strict directives to all cyber café owners to ensure that ‘log in’ and ‘log out’ registers are maintained properly.

Dehradun SSP Amit Kumar Sinha had convened the meeting with the cyber café owners to brief them about the guidelines to be followed.

However, information gathered by The Tribune revealed that out of about 244 cyber cafés registered in the state capital, very few are following the guidelines. A visit to various cyber cafes on Rajpur Road, EC Road and Chakrata Road revealed that no cyber café owner asked for any identity proof, nor was the register filled.

Enquiries also revealed that in the absence of any specific authority to regulate the working of the cyber cafés in the city, many persons are running cyber cafés illegally.

Since, the police does not have any record of cyber cafes, the number of cyber cafés in the city may well be more than 244. Despite repeated attempts, Dehradun SSP Amit Kumar Sinha was not available for comment.