Jailed gangster-turned-politician, Mukhtar Ansari died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday after he was admitted to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh‘s Banda district because of his health condition. He was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state after he complained of vomiting.
Also Read: UP news: Jailed Mukhtar Ansari admitted to hospital after ‘abdominal pain’
The five-time MLA from eastern UP’s Mau was involved in the property business and was also involved in 52 criminal cases in UP and at many other places. He contested elections twice as Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) candidate. He last contested the assembly polls in 2017.
Soon after his death, prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 have been imposed across Uttar Pradesh, said Police on Thursday.
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Who was Mukhtar Ansari?
Mukhtar Ansari was involved in the property business and contract work, and he is said to have begun expanding his network in the world of crime in the 1990s across eastern Uttar Pradesh, also known as Purvanchal.
Also Read: Mukhtar Ansari gets over 5 years rigorous imprisonment in 26-year-old case. Details here
The history-sheeter in Mohammadabad police station of Ghazipur district, Ansari was acquitted by a Delhi court in the murder case of BJP MLA Krishna Nand Rai in 2005. Along with him, six others including brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari, were also acquitted in the case.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a three-decade-old fake arms licence case by a special MP-MLA court on March 13. In 2017, a local court of Ghazipur, UP acquitted him in a case related to the 2009 murder of Ajai Prakash Singh, a contractor, in Mau. He was one of the most celebrated ‘Robinhoods’ in the region as voters in Mau (sadar), 100 km from Gorakhpur, elected him five times over, many times when he was in jail.
Earlier, Ansari’s brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari had alleged that he was given poison in jail.
Section 144 imposed across UP, security heightened in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi
Many police personnel were deployed outside the hospital shortly after Ansari was brought there. After the confirmation of Ansari’s death, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were imposed across Uttar Pradesh following Ansari’s death, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said.
Section 144 prohibits large gatherings in public places. Moreover, police personnel have been deployed in additional numbers in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi districts, he added. Ansari was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.
Samajwadi Party condoles Mukhtar Ansari’s death
Expressing condolence on Ansari’s death, the Samajwadi Party paid tribute to the gangster-turned-politician on Thursday.
“Sad demise of former MLA Shri Mukhtar Ansari. May his soul rest in peace. May the bereaved family members get the strength to bear this immense loss. Humble tribute,” the party said in a post in Hindi on X.
The 63-year-old gangster-turned politician was behind bars in UP and Punjab since 2005. He had over 60 criminal cases pending against him.
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Published: 28 Mar 2024, 10:39 PM IST