Varanasi’s MP MLA court on Monday convicted jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in the Awadhesh Rai murder case.Congress leader and brother of former MLA Ajay Rai, Awadhesh Rai, was shot dead outside Ajay Rai's house in Varanasi. In the case, Ajay Rai had named Mukhtar Ansari, Bhim Singh and former MLA Abdul Kalim, in the FIR.
Mukhtar Ansari is a dreaded gangster-turned-politician in the UP -- he has been an MLA for five consecutive terms from the Mau Sadar assembly seat. He did not contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and his seat was won by his son Abbas Ansari from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.In May this year, Mukhtar Ansari was aquitted in a 2009 attempt to murder case. Mukhtar Ansari was in jail for several years as he was the accused in several other cases.