Moradabad: In an unprecedented move, the Moradabad District Magistrate (DM) locked up over two dozen mediapersons inside an emergency ward for two hours while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was visiting the district hospital.

DM Rakesh Kumar Singh posted guards outside the gate to ensure that the journalists did not come out during Adityanath’s visit on Saturday.

After half-an-hour when the Chief Minister left, Singh came and unlocked the gate, saying that the mediapersons were responsible for his act.

He asked the media persons not to visit the district hospital.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has criticized Adityanath for banning mediapersons from covering his routine visit.

In a post on Twitter, she said: “Journalists are being held as hostages, questions are being shielded and problems are being sidelined. The BJP government, which got a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, is turning a blind eye to the questions of the public.”

The incident has been criticized on social media and many have also slammed the DM for giving such an order.

However, Singh later clarified on Twitter that no such incident occurred.

“It is not correct. During inspection, many mediapersons were inside the ward and we simply requested media persons not to go inside the ward,” he said.

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Kolkata (PTI): Police stations in border districts of West Bengal intensified surveillance and searches as investigators suspect the involvement of professional shooters from neighbouring states in the killing of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide, a senior officer said on Friday.

The police are also investigating the role of local criminals who might have provided logistical support to the assailants, he said.

More than 36 hours after Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath was assassinated by motorcycle-borne gunmen at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district, the police are yet to make any arrest.

“A detailed investigation is underway. The manner in which the attack was carried out suggests extensive reconnaissance and the possible involvement of hired sharpshooters from outside the state,” a senior police officer told PTI.

He also said all police stations in border districts have been alerted.

"Checks are being carried out at multiple points, and CCTV footage from areas along Jessore Road is being thoroughly scanned,” another senior officer said.

According to probe findings, the gunmen allegedly followed Rath’s vehicle before launching the attack.

“The escape route of the gunmen indicates that they were familiar with the locality, or local criminals might have assisted them. Without local support, fleeing through the lanes so quickly would have been difficult,” the officer added.

The police, however, are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murder.

The police and detective department officers have launched extensive searches in and around Madhyamgram near Kolkata.

Heavy deployment of police and central forces has also been made in the area since the murder occurred on Wednesday night.

"A motorcycle used in the crime was registered in 2012 in the name of a resident of Burnpur in Asansol. However, the police found that no person by that name currently resides at the address given during the vehicle registration process," another officer said.