Uttar Pradesh police on Monday received a lot of flak after news of eight donkeys being imprisoned in a jail in Jalaun district emerged. The donkeys had reportedly eaten and destroyed plants worth Rs 5 lakh on 24 November, leading to their arrest by jail superintendent Tulsi Ram Sharma.
“Despite warnings, the owner let loose his animals, so we detained the donkeys,” the jail superintendent told PTI. The donkeys were behind bars for four days.
On Tuesday, however, the police denied the reports, and especially slammed news channel NDTV for making those claims.
Further, the UP police pointed out the ‘errors’ in reporting to an NDTV reporter.
....But the Jail Had Confirmed Their Arrest
On Monday, at least two officials confirmed to news publications that the eight donkeys had been detained. Besides jail superintendent Sharma, Orai jail’s head constable RK Mishra had informed ANI about the arrest.
- 01/02The ‘incarcerated’ donkeys were released from Orai jail after four days.(Photo: ANI Screen grab)
- 02/02RK Mishra, head constable of Orai jail confirmed the news.(Photo: ANI Screen grab)
Various types of saplings were planted in the district jail premises for beautification. Those were damaged by the donkeys. Hence, I rounded them up.Tulsi Ram Sharma, Jail Superintendent to PTI
The four-legged ‘criminals’ were only released on Monday from Orai jail after a local politician had submitted the bail amount.
The owner of the donkeys, Kamlesh, apparently made many requests to prison authorities to let the donkeys go, but to no avail. He then had to seek the help of local BJP leader Shakti Gahoi, who then requested the jailer to let the donkeys go, reported IANS.
(This story has been updated to reflect the UP Police’s response to the news)
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