PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Uttarakhand State Commission for Women (USCW) chairperson Kusum Kandwal has written to the director general of police, Uttarakhand, directing him to issue strict guidelines for hotels across the State after the commission took cognisance of the alleged rape of a minor girl in a Rishikesh-based hotel.
She ordered all hotels in the State be mandated to maintain at least three months of CCTV backup, so that if necessary, the USCW, the police administration or the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) can investigate suspicious activities and visitor records sans any hindrance.
“Hotels providing rooms to minors without a valid identity card and age verification should be identified and a case should be registered against them as co-accused under the POCSO Act and other relevant sections,” she stated.
Sharing more on the alleged rape incident, she said that she had visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, met the survivor and her family. “I gathered complete information about the incident and assured the minor of justice, treatment and security,” she said.
She further said that she had spoken to the superintendent of police (Rural), Jaya Baluni and SHO (Rishikesh Yashpal Singh Bisht over phone to obtain detailed information about the incident. She instructed the officers to intensify raids on possible hideouts to arrest the absconding accused, who is a resident of Muzaffarnagar, and to ensure action against him under the strictest legal provisions.
Expressing serious concern, the commission chairperson said that the alleged act of the accused luring a minor student from Rishikesh to a hotel after befriending her on social media and then drugging and raping her appears to be part of a deliberate conspiracy. “Cases of girls being trapped through social media on false promises for physical and mental exploitation are increasing. This is a worrying trend,” she remarked.
USCW to hold AI & cyber fraud program today
DEHRADUN: To raise awareness among women about Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber fraud and protection against the increasing incidents of cybercrime targeting women, a special awareness programme will be organised under the auspices of the Uttarakhand State Commission for Women (USCW) on Tuesday at 10 AM at Pandit Lalit Mohan Sharma Campus of Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University, Rishikesh.
The member secretary, USCW, Urvashi Chauhan stated that during the programme, women will receive crucial information about preventing cybercrime and ensuring digital security. Experts will discuss the applications and possibilities of artificial intelligence in areas such as education, employment, entrepreneurship, business and content creation.
She also said that the event will include live demonstrations of various AI tools, allowing participants to gain practical knowledge about the safe and effective use of modern technology.
