Dehradun: Independent MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Nautanwa constituency, Aman Mani Tripathi was detained by the Uttarakhand police for allegedly violating lockdown rules on Monday.
The incident occurred at Gauchar of Chamoli district where the entourage was stopped for screening by officials on Sunday night. Tripathi, along with ten others, was on a trip to Badrinath and Kedarnath with the requisite permission of Uttarakhand Additional Chief Secretary Om Prakash.
According to sources, a case was registered against the violators at the Muni Ki Reti police station and they were all released on bail soon.
"Aman Mani Tripathi had come from Uttar Pradesh, along with others in three vehicles. They were stopped at Gauchar barrier. Without stopping they carried on and reached Karnaprayag. An argument ensued with the doctors and administration officials deployed for screening. The group was forced to return," said Karnaprayag SDM Vaibhav Gupta.
Interestingly, the MLA had earlier sought permission to visit these holy sites for offering prayers for the salvation of the soul of the father of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who passed away recently amid the lockdown. However, Yogi Adityanath's brother Mahendra Singh Bisht refuted these claims and said "we never asked anyone to perform the prayers on their behalf. We have immersed our father's ashes and performed all the rituals on our own."
His parents-- former minister Amar Mani Tripathi and mother Madhu Mani Tripathi-are already in jail after being convicted for the murder of a poetess Madhumita Shukla in Lucknow in 2003. Amar Mani Tripathi was known for courting both politics and crime in Uttar Pradesh. Even before joining politics, Amar Mani was involved in many petty crimes. Aman Mani Tripathi is a controversial legislator and is facing charges of his wife Sara's murder and the case is being probed by the CBI.
There are strict rules for travelling during the lockdown. Avoiding these rules, on the basis of the letter of the additional chief secretary of the chief minister, Om Prakash, the Dehradun district administration issued passes to Amanmani Tripathi and his ten friends to visit Badrinath and Kedarnath pilgrimage centres.
The permission was granted against the guidelines of the Union Home Ministry. According to the guidelines, there is a ban on the movement of more than five persons. This has also been written on the permit issued by the district administration.
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