Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari passed away on Thursday after suffering a heart attack. Ansari, who was lodged in Banda jail, reportedly experienced the heart attack in his barrack before being admitted to a hospital in Banda.
In response, the Uttar Pradesh government has enforced Section 144 in Mau and Ghazipur. Additionally, security measures have been intensified in regions such as Ghazipur, Balia, and Pryagraj, where Ansari wielded significant influence.
This unfortunate incident marks the second time in two days that Ansari's health had deteriorated. He was previously hospitalized for approximately 14 hours on Tuesday in Banda due to abdominal pain, but was discharged afterward and returned to prison. Earlier, his brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari had alleged that Ansari was poisoned while in jail.
Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time former MLA from Mau Sadar seat, had been incarcerated in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005, with over 60 criminal cases pending against him. He had been convicted in eight cases since September 2022 by various Uttar Pradesh courts and was lodged in Banda jail. Ansari's name was included in the list of 66 gangsters issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police last year. His family members had expressed concerns that he might face a staged encounter.
Afzal Ansari claimed that his brother had been poisoned twice before, most recently on March 19 or 22. During a virtual hearing in a Barabanki court on March 21, Mukhtar's lawyer had filed an application alleging that Ansari was being administered "slow poison" in jail, leading to his deteriorating health.
Born in 1963, Mukhtar Ansari had served as an MLA from the Mau constituency five times, twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. He last contested in the Assembly polls in 2017.