Dehradun, Dec 6 (PTI) A delegation of Congress leaders from Uttarakhand led by former chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday met Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and demanded justice for two women victims from the hill state. The delegation demanded punishment for the guilty in Delhi's Chhawla rape and murder case and the perpetrators in the more recent Ankita Bhandari murder case involving a resort near Rishikesh. The Supreme Court recently acquitted the alleged perpetrators of Chhawla rape and murder case.

The Congress leaders also handed a memorandum to Rijiju during the meeting in Delhi, saying the state and Central governments should file a review petition in the apex court in the Chhawla rape-murder case. "No serious efforts are being made by the state government to punish the culprits in both cases whose victims were daughters of the hill state, while a 'VIP' involved in Ankita Bhandari murder case is also being saved," the memorandum said. One crore people of the state are deeply hurt by both the incidents, it said.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Drunk Man Rapes Wife, Inserts Plastic Object in Her Private Part in Mulund; Arrested for Unnatural Sex.

The decision of the Supreme Court has increased their restlessness and people across the state are looking towards the Central and state governments for justice to the victims, the delegation said. People expected Rijiju to empathise with them as he himself belongs to a hill state, the memorandum said. Senior Congress leader Dhirendra Pratap and AICC secretary Haripal Rawat were also part of the delegation.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)