'Incarcerated' donkeys released from Uttar Pradesh jail on BJP leader's recommendation

Lucknow: Bizarre news is not something new to Uttar Pradesh. On Monday, the district jail in Orai was witness to a unique sight as eight donkeys "incarcerated" for the last four days in the prison were let off, after a “recommendation” from a local BJP leader. These donkeys had been “sent behind the bars” by jail superintendent Sita Ram Sharma, who lost his cool on the four-legged animals after they chewed up costly plants brought by the prison authorities for plantation inside the jail premises. [caption id=“attachment_4231211” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The owner of the donkeys apparently made many requests to prison authorities to let the donkeys go but to no avail. He then did what most commoners do in Uttar Pradesh – petition the politician. Here, he made a fervent appeal to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shakti Gahoi, who then went to the jailer and asked him to let the donkeys go. With a ruling party leader making the request, the prison official immediately signed the “release orders”. Locals apparently were amused to the hilt to see donkeys walk out of the prison gates rather than men, which is usually a common sight. But then, this is Uttar Pradesh, and anything and everything is possible here!