Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest in Banda, security tightened in UP

Jailed gangster and politician Mukhtar Ansari died in UP’s Banda on Thursday, following a heart attack. Amsari, 60, suffered a massive heart attack in Banda jail on Thursday evening during a medical check-up and he fell unconscious. He was immediately taken to the Banda Medical College where he died. The hospital administration has confirmed his demise. Earlier on Tuesday, Ansari’s health had deteriorated and he was admitted to the ICU at Banda Medical College. However, he was discharged the same evening after doctors declared him fit. Ansari had earlier told the court that he was being given food laced with poison in jail, after which the court had sought a report on the same. He had alleged that he was also given food laced with poison 40 days ago. Ansari, a five-time former MLA from Mau Sadar seat, had been behind bars in UP and Punjab since 2005. He has over 60 criminal cases pending against him. Ansari was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts of UP and was lodged in the Banda jail. His name was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police in 2023. His family members had earlier expressed apprehension that he could be killed in a fake encounter. On March 13, Ansari was sentenced to life imprisonment in a three-decade-old fake gun licence case. The MP-MLA court also slapped a fine totalling Rs 2 lakh on Ansari under various penal provisions. Born in 1963, Ansari was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. He last contested the Assembly polls in 2017. Meanwhile, huge crowds have started collecting outside his ancestral house in Ghazipur. His family has already left for Banda. Additional forces have been put on alert and police deployment is being increased in Ghazipur. Prohibitory orders have also been imposed.