Mukhtar Ansari’s death in UP jail: What Opposition leaders & family members said?

Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster turned politician, died due to a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh late last evening. Ansari was admitted to the hospital in Banda after collapsing unconscious in the district jail around 8:45 pm. Despite treatment at the Rani Durgavati Medical College, he could not be revived after suffering from a cardiac arrest.

 

The family of Mukhtar Ansari, who had been incarcerated in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh since 2005, has raised allegations that he was poisoned while in prison.

 

"Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in his food in jail. This happened for the second time. He was given poison around 40 days ago as well. And, recently, on March 19, he was again given this (poison) due to which his condition was bad," his brother Afzal Ansari stated.

 

Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar echoed these claims, asserting that his father was given poison in his food and vowed to seek justice through legal means.

 

Earlier this month, Ansari's lawyer had also alleged in court that there was a threat to his life in Banda jail and that he was administered some poisonous substance with his food.

 

Probe demanded
 

Several politicians, including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati, have called for an investigation into the allegations made by Ansari's family.

 

Congress leader Surendra Rajput said, "Mukhtar Ansari had expressed the fear of his murder a few days ago. He had claimed that he was being given slow poison. Today he died and poisoning allegation has been confirmed. The administration is shamelessly saying that the death occurred due to heart attack and the government & administration is not ready to accept that they are making serious mistakes."

 

Surendra Rajput said further, "Sometimes Munna Bajrangi is beaten to death in the jails of UP, sometimes criminals are openly shot dead in police custody. Sometimes murders are taking place in the courts and the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Bharatiya Janata Party Government do nothing."

Former CM of Uttar Pradesh and BSP supremo Mayawati has expressed grief over the demise of Mukhtar Ansari and demanded a high-level investigation.

She said in a tweet, "It is necessary to conduct a high-level investigation into the persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari's family regarding his death in jail, so that the true facts of his death can be revealed."

Security measures were heightened outside the hospital following Ansari's demise, with prohibitory orders imposed across the state to maintain law and order.

 

Ansari's autopsy is scheduled to be conducted today at Banda Medical College Hospital.

 

Having served as a five-time MLA from Mau, Ansari faced numerous criminal cases, including 15 murder charges. He began his career in the 1980s by joining a gang and later formed his own gang in the 1990s, which was notorious for extortion and kidnapping activities across Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi, and Jaunpur districts.