Lucknow: A three-member team has been appointed to conduct a thorough magisterial inquiry into the death of notorious gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Additionally, a panel of two doctors will conduct the detailed post-mortem procedure, which will be recorded on video for transparency. After post-mortem, Mukhtar Ansari's body will be handed over to his son Omar Ansari. The jailed gangster-turned-politician died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
Ansari was brought to Banda's Rani Durgavati Medical College from the district jail in an “unconscious state” and, according to its principal Sunil Kaushal, died in the hospital after cardiac arrest. According to the medical bulletin, Ansari was brought to the medical college in an unconscious state at around 8.25 pm on Thursday night after complaining of vomiting. It said a team of nine doctors treated him but he died of cardiac arrest.
Ansari's brother Afzal Ansari on Tuesday alleged that he was given “slow poisoning” in jail, a charge the authorities have denied.
Ansari, 63, was a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat and was behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. More than 60 criminal cases were pending against him. Since September 2022, he was sentenced in eight cases by various courts of Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in Banda jail. His name was in the list of 66 gangsters released by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.
Section 144 implemented in some parts of UP
Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed across the state and teams of Central Reserve Police Force along with local police have been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi.
Ansari, a resident of Mau, is also considered to have a good influence in the nearby Ghazipur and Varanasi districts.
The DGP said that the social media cell of Uttar Pradesh Police has also been activated to keep a close watch on illegal elements online.
CM Yogi held high level meeting
After Ansari's death, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called a high-level meeting at his residence on Thursday night. The meeting was attended by DGP Prashant Kumar and senior officials and took stock of the situation and discussed the security issues arising due to Ansari's death.
The Chief Minister directed the concerned officials to ensure maintenance of law and order in all the districts across the state. The Chief Minister reportedly instructed officials to increase security in all sensitive areas.