Survey lists Dehradun among unsafe cities for women, police summon those who conducted it

“If the company fails to give satisfactory answers or if evidence is found that the report was prepared on baseless facts, strict legal action will be taken,” SSP Singh said.

The National Annual Report on Women’s Safety – NARI 2025 listed Dehradun as one of the top 10 unsafe cities for women in India. The report was made public on August 28 and was released by the NCW, with its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar in attendance.

Last week, the BJP government in Uttarakhand claimed the report was “not based on facts”. According to police, trade associations and educational institutions in Dehradun also raised objections to the report and submitted complaints demanding legal action.

Mayank Dhayya, a representative of the firm, appeared before the SSP on Monday and is learnt to have told him that the survey was conducted as part of an academic research course for university students, in which two separate teams of the company were involved. While one team collected the data through survey work, the other team carried out the data analysis. The SSP said that no satisfactory answers were provided by the representative regarding the basis of the survey report or other questions.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau data of 2022, Dehradun saw no rape-murder cases, but eight dowry deaths, 13 abetment of suicide, and 184 rape cases. The total number of crimes against women stood at 1,205 cases — 27% of the total 4,337 cases in the state.

In 2021, the number of rape-murder cases was zero in Dehradun, dowry deaths were 10, cruelty by husband or relatives cases were at 132, and rape cases were at 113. The total number of cases involving crimes against women was 756 out of the total 3,431 cases registered in the state, 22% of the total. In comparison, Delhi saw 14,277 cases of crimes against women, and the national capital has been listed as one of the least safe cities for women in the NARI report.

The NARI report recorded the views of 12,770 women across 31 cities. The index set India’s national safety score at 65%, rating cities as “much above”, “above”, “below” or “much below” the benchmark. Cities such as Kohima, Mumbai, and Bhubaneswar ranked among the safest, while Delhi, Patna, and Jaipur were among the least safe.

Last Tuesday, the state government rejected the findings, with the State Women’s Commission claiming that the survey was neither conducted by the National Commission for Women nor by the State Women’s Commission, and that it has no association with any government survey institution.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s office and the Dehradun police have come down heavily on the report, targeting its methodology and sample size.

The CMO claimed in a communication that the survey company did not interact with women in person, but prepared the report only on the basis of phone conversations. “In Dehradun, against a women’s population of about 9 lakh, the survey seems to have drawn conclusions electronically based on a sample size of only 400 women,” the statement said.

While releasing the report, NCW chairperson Rahatkar had praised it. “An all-inclusive report has been prepared by taking into account elements that contribute to providing safety and respect to women. If they distribute this report to the local officers or local bodies where the survey has taken place, then it will be very easy to implement. The National Commission for Women will also help them,” she had said on August 28.

Rahatkar did not respond to calls and messages from The Indian Express seeking comments.

The Uttarakhand Police said in a statement that while the survey says only 4% of women use apps and technical facilities, the Gaura Shakti App, an Uttarakhand Police initiative, has reportedly seen 1.25 lakh registrations, out of which 16,649 are from Dehradun alone. “It is clear that the survey report is not based on facts,” the statement said. Questioning the sampling, question framing, and “definition of safety”, the statement said, “We respect the conclusions of the survey, but for policy decisions, it is essential that the survey methodology be robust.”