Curated By: Sheen Kachroo
News18.com
Last Updated: March 28, 2024, 23:50 IST
Banda, India
A convicted gangster and politician from Uttar Pradesh, Mukhtar Ansari had been elected as MLA from the Mau constituency five times. (Image: PTI File)
Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died on Thursday after he suffered a heart attack at a jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district. He was admitted to Rani Durgavati Medical College, Banda after his health deteriorated.
The official medical bulletin said that Ansari died of cardiac arrest. He was brought to Rani Durgavati Medical College in an unconscious state at around 8.25 pm.
Ansari, who has served as MLA from Mau several times, has been sentenced in various cases and was lodged in Banda jail.
Meanwhile, the police have tightened security in Mau, Gazipur, and Banda and section 144 of CrPc has been imposed in these districts.
Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bars large gatherings, were imposed across Uttar Pradesh following Ansari’s death, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said.
There is a special deployment of police personnel in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts, he added.
Samajwadi Party (SP) expressed condolences over the former MLA’s death.
पूर्व विधायक श्री मुख्तार अंसारी जी का इंतकाल, दुःखद।ईश्वर उनकी आत्मा को शांति दें।
शोकाकुल परिजनों को यह असीम दुःख सहने का संबल प्राप्त हो।
विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि !
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) March 28, 2024
Former Bihar deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said Ansari’s poison complaint was not taken seriously and constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases.
यूपी से पूर्व विधायक श्री मुख्तार अंसारी के इंतकाल का दुःखद समाचार मिला। परवरदिगार से प्रार्थना है कि दिवंगत आत्मा को शांति तथा शोकाकुल परिजनों को दुःख सहने की शक्ति प्रदान करें।कुछ दिन पूर्व उन्होंने शिकायत की थी कि उन्हें जेल में जहर दिया गया है फिर भी इसे गंभीरता से नहीं…
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) March 28, 2024
Congress leader Surendra Rajput said Ansari’s death in the jail raises a big question against the BJP-led UP government and demanded that this should be investigated thoroughly so that everyone gets to know what is going on.
The 63-year-old is a five-time former MLA from the Mau Sadar seat and has been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He has over 60 criminal cases pending against him.
On March 26, the gangster was admitted to the same medical college for around 14 hours after he complained of abdominal pain. Principal of Rani Durgavati Medical College, Banda, Sunil Kaushal said that Ansari was admitted to the hospital following “pain in the stomach and problem in urinating and excretion”. He was discharged later.
As per the official statement of the prison department released in Lucknow on Tuesday, Mukhtar Ansari fell in the toilet in night.
(with inputs from PTI)
