Student bodies protest daylight murders in Dehradun, Cong announces Feb 16 march

Dehradun: Amid mounting outrage over five alleged murders in Dehradun in a little over two weeks, members of DAV PG College's student union along with NSUI representatives, held a protest outside the police headquarters (PHQ) on Friday, accusing the administration of failing to curb rising crime in the city. The protest came hours after a Jharkhand-based gangster, facing more than 50 criminal cases, was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside a gym on Rajpur Road — the second broad daylight killing in three days."Incidents of murder, robbery, theft and drug trafficking are increasing in the capital, creating fear among citizens. Despite this, the police and the state govt appear to be failing to control the situation," said Siddharth Agarwal, president of the college's alumni association. The students demanded immediate arrests in the recent cases and a concrete plan to restore law and order, warning that the agitation would be intensified if prompt action was not taken.The Opposition Congress has announced a march on Monday against what it termed the "failures" of the state govt. Former minister Harak Singh Rawat said the march would focus on law and order and other issues. "Things have gone out of the BJP govt's control, and it is proving to be a failure on all fronts," he said.Rawat also criticised the police over the killing of a 40-year-old businessman near Dehradun's Tibetan Market on Wednesday, barely 600m from the PHQ and less than a kilometre from the SSP's office. "Broad daylight murders near key govt and police offices raise serious questions about law and order. Senior officers are quick to take credit after catching a thief, but who will take responsibility for such killings in prominent areas?" he questioned.Six-time Congress MLA Pritam Singh echoed the concern. "There is fear among the people but none among criminals. These crimes are not occurring on the outskirts but in the heart of Dehradun, close to the SSP's residence, PHQ and the state secretariat. This shows criminals are operating without fear," he said.The Uttarakhand statehood agitators' forum has also called for a public protest on Saturday. "Our 42 comrades did not sacrifice their lives for this Uttarakhand," said forum member Pradeep Kukreti. Referring to the Rajpur Road shooting, Kukreti said, "Whether the person killed was a criminal is irrelevant. What is the state intelligence doing when bullets are fired in broad daylight in prime public areas? A body was found today as well, and these are only the cases that have come to light. What about the injustices that remain hidden? We did not fight for this state. We are faring worse than states once synonymous with crime."Friday's shooting is the latest in a series of killings across the district and the state. On Thursday, the bodies of a 25-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were found with their heads crushed with stones inside a godown in Haldwani's Naveen Mandi area. A day earlier, the businessman was shot dead near Tibetan Market. On Feb 2, a 22-year-old woman was hacked to death in Machhi Bazaar. On Jan 28, a 17-year-old girl died after being attacked with a sickle and stones in Vikasnagar. On Jan 31, a contractual worker at AIIMS Rishikesh was allegedly shot dead by her lover at her rented house in Shivaji Nagar.