Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh Police, saying law and order has become a "joke" for it.

The Congress general secretary has also alleged that torturing the innocent and protecting criminals has become the "basic mantra" for the administration in Uttar Pradesh.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Gandhi said, "In Raebareli, a public facility centre operator, Ravi Chaurasia, was robbed of Rs 8 lakh. The miscreants snatched his bag full of money and fled. For some reasons, they left the bag on the roadside and ran away. That bag was found by a businessman named Deepu. When Deepu went to get the bag deposited at a police station along with some people, police put him in jail."

"Businessmen protested against this. Seeing the protest, the investigation was handed over to another police station. In the investigation, it was found that Deepu did his duty as a good citizen but police made him an accused. On this basis, the court granted bail to Deepu," she said in the post on the social media platform in Hindi.

"Torturing the innocent and giving protection to criminals -- this has become the basic mantra for the administration in Uttar Pradesh," Gandhi alleged.

Gaurav alias Deepu, a resident of Jamunipur Charuhar in Raebareli, had gone to the police station to get the bag containing money deposited, but was wrongfully accused of robbery and jailed.

Deepu was arrested on August 26, sparking protests from locals.

He was released on Saturday evening following an inquiry, officials said.

Deepu had found the bag while returning home after fetching water on August 20 and promptly reported the matter to the local police station, accompanied by a representative of the village head.

However, police charged him with robbery, leading to his arrest.

Villagers and local business owners held protests demanding his release. They argued that Deepu was innocent.

In the wake of the public outcry, police launched an investigation and ultimately, concluded that Deepu was not involved in the robbery.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjeev Kumar Sinha said due to lack of evidence, police have released Deepu.

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