UP lawmaker tricks officials into issuing pass to visit Hindu shrines

An Uttar Pradesh lawmaker, who tricked the officials in the neighbouring Uttarakhand into issuing him a pass to visit the famous Hindu shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath on the pretext of performing rituals for UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath's father, who had died recently, was arrested in the hill state.

The lawmaker, Aman Mani Tripathi, an independent MLA from Maharajganj district in the state, was arrested at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand late on Sunday night along with ten others.

Tripathi, the son of rape-murder convict former UP minister Amar Mani Tripathi and the members of his group, were later released on bail.

According to the police sources here, Tripathi had told the Uttarakhand officials that he wanted to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines to perform some rituals for Adityanath's dead father.

Although the portals of the Badrinath temple was yet to be opened, the officials issued a pass to Tripathi and ten other members of his group.

Sources said that the MLA managed to get through several barriers and check posts and reached Chamoli before being intercepted and sent back.

A case was registered against Tripathi and others. UP government would also conduct a probe into the matter, sources said.