Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies

Lucknow: Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

Ansari was taken to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail after his health deteriorated. Medical College principal Suneel Kaushal told PTI over phone that Ansari died following a cardiac arrest at the facility.

There was a heavy deployment of police personnel outside the hospital shortly after Ansari was taken there.

Ansari, 63, was a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat and was behind bars in UP and Punjab since 2005. He had over 60 criminal cases pending against him. He was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts of Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail.

His name was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bars large gatherings, were imposed across the state following Ansari's death, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said.

Additional deployment of police personnel has also been made in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts, he added.

"Teams of Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed along with local police in these districts," the DGP said.

Ansari, who hailed from Mau, was believed to have strong influence in adjoining Ghazipur and Varanasi districts as well.

The social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police has also been activated to keep a close watch on unlawful elements online, he said.

According to a medical bulletin, Ansari was brought to the medical college around 8.25 pm on Thursday in an unconscious state after he had complained of vomiting. A team of nine doctors attended to him but he died of a cardiac arrest, it stated.

Earlier, Ansari was hospitalised for around 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain.

On Tuesday, his brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari alleged that he was given poison in jail. The Samajwadi Party condoled Ansari's death.

"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.