Patna, Sep 7 (IANS): Bihar Labour Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Friday said that crimes have increased in the state and law and order is a challenge.

He said this in reference to the murder of an 88-year-old retired Commissioner of Irrigation Department and his 70-year-old wife in Patna on Thursday.

Sinha, who is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, said that most of the crimes are now committed by youths. "Nature of crimes have changed, youths are behind them."

Law and order should be brought back to the level of the first tenure of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule (2005-2010) in the state, he added.

Opposition Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Left parties have been repeatedly raising the issue of deterioration of law and order in the state following a spurt in crimes in recent months.

But the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leaders have claimed that crimes have decreased in the state. They said that the rule of law and governance are the main agenda of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.