Dehradun, Oct. 2 -- The annual Crime in India 2023 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed a decline in overall crime as well as crimes against women and cyber offences in Uttarakhand compared to the previous year. However, corruption cases showed an upward trend, rising from 10 in 2021 to 19 in 2022 and 21 in 2023. According to the report, a total of 34,875 crimes (registered under the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws) were registered in the state in 2021, which came down to 34,607 in 2022 and further to 34,017 in 2023. Murder cases also showed a steady fall - 208 in 2021, 187 in 2022, and 183 in 2023. Crimes against women, which had increased from 3,431 cases in 2021 to 4,337 in 2022, declined to 3,808 in 2023. Earlier, the state had reported 2,846 such cases in 2020 and 2,541 in 2019. As many as 421 rape cases, 20 cases of attempt to rape, and 808 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were registered in 2023. In comparison, 2022 saw 867 rape cases, 18 attempts to rape, and 822 POCSO cases, while 2021 recorded 534 rape cases, 33 attempts to rape, and 689 POCSO cases. The crimes against people from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) also showed a decline, with 102 cases registered in 2023, compared to 114 in 2022 and 123 in 2021. Crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) stood at two in 2023, one in 2022, and six in 2021. However, corruption cases showed an upward trend, rising from 10 in 2021 to 19 in 2022 and 21 in 2023. Cybercrime cases also witnessed a steady decline, with 718 cases registered in 2021, 559 in 2022, and 494 in 2023. In August this year, a survey by a private data science firm, Pvalue Analytics, ranked Dehradun among the country's ten most unsafe cities for women. Police officials rejected the survey, saying it was neither commissioned by the National Commission for Women (NCW), the state women's panel, nor any government agency. Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said the survey covered 31 cities through CATI (computer-assisted telephonic interviews) and CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviews), without direct field interaction. "In Dehradun, only 400 women were interviewed out of a female population of nearly nine lakh, which was too small a sample size to be representative," he added. When contacted, Inspector general of police (law and order) and spokesperson for the state Nilesh Anand Bharne refused to comment on the matter. Director General of Police (DGP) Deepam Seth, on the other hand, didn't respond to calls....