Mukhtar Ansari: The Breakthrough Journey of a Politician in 8 Chapters

Gangster-Politician Mukhtar Ansari’s Death

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who had been in jail in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh. The family of Ansari has alleged that he was poisoned in the prison, and his brother Afzal Ansari has stated that he was given poisonous substances in his food in jail for the second time. His son Umar also alleged that his father was given poison in the food and said he would approach the court. Several politicians, including Samajadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati, have called for a probe into the dreaded gangster’s family’s allegations.

Security was stepped up outside the hospital after his death, and prohibitory orders were imposed across the state to maintain law and order. Officials said there was a special deployment of forces in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as well, where Ansari wields influence allegedly through a criminal syndicate. Ansari’s autopsy is being conducted at Banda Medical College Hospital. He was hospitalized in the early hours of Tuesday and discharged after nearly 14 hours. The prison department had said that Ansari’s health had deteriorated because he was fasting during Ramadan and had fallen in the washroom.

Criminal cases against Mukhtar Ansari

Mukhtar Ansari, the five-time former MLA from Mau, had more than 60 criminal cases against him, of which 15 were on murder charges. He had joined a gang in the 1980s and then formed his own in the 1990s. The gang was involved in extortion and kidnapping in the Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi, and Jaunpur districts. Mukhtar Ansari entered the world of crime to establish himself and his gang in the government contract mafia that was then flourishing in the state. His tryst with crime began as early as 1978, when he was just 15 years old. He had his first brush with the law when he was booked for criminal intimidation at the Saidpur Police Station in Ghazipur.

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Mr. Ansari became a Common Face of Crime

Almost a decade later, by the time he had become a well-known face in the contract mafia circle, another case of murder was lodged against him at the Muhammad Police Station in Ghazipur. Over the next decade, Mr. Ansari became a common face of crime, with at least 14 more cases under serious charges lodged against him. However, his growing criminal record did not hinder his entry into politics. Since 2005, till his death, Mr. Ansari has been lodged in different jails in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Mr. Ansari was awarded a life term and a penalty of Rs 2.02 lakh by Varanasi MP/MLA earlier this month in a case involving fraudulently obtaining an arms license around 37 years ago.

This was the eighth case in which he was sentenced in the past 18 months by different courts in the U.P. and the second in which he was awarded a life term. On December 15, 2023, a Varanasi MP/MLA court sentenced him for five years and six months for giving a death threat to Mahavir Prasad Rungta for turning hostile and not pursuing a case involving the kidnapping and murder of BJP leader and coal trader Nand Kishore Rungta on January 22, 1997. On October 27, 2023, a Ghazipur MP/MLA court awarded him 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of ₹5 lakh in a Gangster Act case lodged against him in 2010.

Ansari’s Seven Years in Prison

Mukhtar Ansari’s first conviction in the last 13 months was awarded by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on September 23, 2022. Ansari, a BSP MLA, was sentenced to seven years in prison for threatening the jailor of Lucknow district jail in 2003. The Uttar Pradesh government sought to bring him back to the state from Ropar jail in Punjab. Ansari was lodged in Ropar jail in January 2019 for an extortion case and remained there for over two years. In March 2021, the Supreme Court directed the Punjab government to hand over Ansari’s custody to UP, stating that a convict or under-trial prisoner cannot oppose his transfer from one prison to another.

The court emphasized that courts should not be helpless bystanders when the rule of law is being challenged with impunity. Since 2020, the Ansari gang has faced intense police pressure, seized or demolished illegal property worth ₹608 crore and stopped illegal business, contracts, or tenders worth ₹215 crore.