Priyanka, UP police in Twitter war over 'crimes' in UP

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Uttar Pradesh police were locked in a Twitter war after the former alleged that there had been a spurt in crime the state and that the state government had ''surrendered'' before the criminals.

''The criminals have a free run in Uttar Pradesh....incidents of crime have been occurring one after another but the state government seems to be unaffected,'' Priyanka said in a post on Twitter on Saturday.

''Has the state government surrendered before the criminals?'' she asked.

The Congress leader also posted a collage of handwritten posters containing incidents of crimes in the state in the past few months.

Countering Priyanka's charge, the state police also took to Twitter and claimed that there was a decline in the incidents of crime in the state.

''There was a decline of 25-30 per cent in crimes following effective action by the cops....heinous crimes have been cracked within 48 hours...the rule of law has been established in the state,'' the state police said in a post on Twitter.

It also referred to the encounter spree and said that in the past two years 81 criminals had been gunned down over nine thousand arrested.

UP BJP leaders also joined the Twitter war between Priyanka and the state police and said that the Congress leader was trying to ''paint a negative image'' of the state in the country.

''Priyanka Vadra is only trying to tarnish the image of the state by making false claims about spurt in crimes.....the criminals are on the run following tough action by the police,'' said a BJP leader.

Priyanka's charge followed a sudden spurt in the incidents of rape in the past few months in the state.