Uttar Pradesh Police Launches Twitter Handle for NRIs

In a move aimed at improving its interaction with the people of Uttar Pradesh living abroad, as well as enhancing the department’s image, the Uttar Pradesh Police on May 22 launched a Twitter handle for Non-Resident Indians.

The Twitter account, @UPPolNRI, can be used by NRIs hailing from the state to bring to police attention various issues, and seek police-related assistance. “The special Twitter handle was launched for NRIs after assessing that the UP police Twitter handle @UPPolice is receiving a number of complaints from other countries,” OP Singh, Director General of Police, said after the launch of the social media platform, the Hindustan Times reported. “Now the separate handle will be helpful in segregating the NRIs’ complaints from other complaints related to local residents and attend it in effective manner,” Singh added.

It doesn’t always need a VISA or Passport to reach out to the people from #UttarPradesh abroad! Sometimes a @Twitter handle is enough! #UPPolice welcomes our NRI families to connect on @UPPolNRI and dissolve boundaries #NewInitiativeUPP #NRIDVUPP pic.twitter.com/zbe92TKRxW

— UPPoliceNRI (@UPPolNRI) May 22, 2018

“We will be designating local coordinators in selected countries. This will help to forward the grievances of the NRIs needing help in the state,” Singh said, adding that the coordinators and digital volunteers would be required to prepare a database of people of Uttar Pradesh origin living in different countries, and create social media platforms such as WhatsApp groups to keep them updated about the different policies of UP Police.

Singh also hailed the work done so far in disposing off complaints received on his Twitter handle, UNI reported. The DGP has around 363,000 followers on The twitter handle @dgpup, while the Uttar Pradesh Police, which made its Twitter debut in September 2016, has nearly 399,000 followers on @Uppolice.

The coordinators will make NRIs cognizant of various citizen-centric services offered by the state police, like Dial 100, 1090, Twitter Seva, e-FIR , deradicalization program of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and counselling by Mahila Samman Prakosht, the Indian Express had report earlier.

“They will also be used for popularizing good work/humane stories/outstanding acts of bravery and duty of the state police besides rebutting any kind of rumor about law and order or crime front of the state,” Singh was quoted as saying at the time.

The timely action taken by the state police in sensational cases that will propagated by these coordinators, which in turn will enhance the department’s image and bridge the gap between the police and the NRI community, Singh had  said, according to the report.

More than 120 verified accounts of the UP Police across districts and zones are accessible to the public on Twitter, Rahul Srivastava, the DGP’s Public Relations Officer, was reported as saying. The complaints tweeted to them are recorded on a centralized dashboard, for which, a docket number is allotted to each complaint, which is then forwarded to the district police concerned for resolution.