The shifting of Samajwadi Party legislator Amarmani Tripathi, his wife Madhumani and two others convicted for the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla on Friday was marked by clashes between mediapersons and jail staff. As many as 10 journalists were injured in the incident. Following the clashes, the mediapersons staged a dharna in front of the jail demanding immediate dismissal of the Jail Superintendent and registration of cases against guilty policemen. They also blocked the Hardwar main road for some time. Senior Opposition leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Suryakant Dhasman and Congress leaders Harak Singh Rawat and Surender Aggarwal, joined the protesting scribes. According to eyewitnesses, mediapersons had heated arguments with the jail staff as vehicles were brought very close to the jail gates to shift the four convicts to Hardwar jail. Alleging that the jail staff had tried to deny them a photo opportunity, cameramen of various media organisations started arguing. As the vehicle carrying the convicts left the jail premises, some jail staff reportedly attacked the journalists, who quickly retreated. Soon some of the mediapersons, including women, went to the Jail Superintendent to talk about the issue. But as they entered the gate, the jail alarm was rung and the wardens started attacking them with sticks. The journalists claimed the guards even fired in the air. As the mediapersons took away their injured colleagues from the jail, both sides started pelting stones at each other. Soon, the Dehradun District Magistrate and senior police officials rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the mediapersons and ordered an inquiry into the incident. But, IG (Prisons) Bhaskaranand later denie that the jail staff had fired in the air.Amidst the confusion, the four convicts were shifted to the Roshanabad Jail in Hardwar, where all life convicts in the state are housed.
