Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest in hospital

The dreaded gangster was brought to the hospital around 8:25 PM, according to the official release from the hospital. A team of nine doctors attended to him before he died, the release added.

Expressing condolences over the death of Mukhtar Ansari, the Samajwadi Party shared a post on Twitter that read, "Sad demise of former MLA Shri Mukhtar Ansari. May his soul rest in peace. May the bereaved family members get the strength to bear this immense sorrow. Humble tribute !".

Speaking on the same, Congress leader Surendra Rajput launched an attack on the BJP and said, "Today Mukhtar Ansari's death in jail raises a big question for the BJP-led UP Government...This should be investigated thoroughly so that everyone gets to know what is going on."

Speaking to ANI, Naseem Haider, the lawyer for Mukhtar Ansari, said, "I received information that he has been brought here, so I have come here."

On Tuesday, he was admitted to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Banda after he complained of abdominal pain. He was then shifted to Uttar Pradesh's Rani Durgawati Medical College after his discharge on Tuesday.

Ansari was elected as an MLA from the Mau assembly seat five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. He had a strong influence in Ghazipur, his hometown.

In April 2023, Mukhtar Ansari was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai by an MP MLA court. He was sentenced to life in prison on March 13, 2024, in a case related to the use of forged documents for obtaining an arms licence in 1990.

Before this, in December 2023, the MP/MLA Court of Varanasi had found Mukhtar Ansari guilty of threatening Mahavir Prasad Rungta, a witness in the murder of 26-year-old coal businessman Nand Kishor Rungta, and had sentenced him to five and a half years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 against him.

On October 15, last year, the Enforcement Directorate attached lands, a building and bank deposits worth more than Rs 73.43 lakh as part of the money laundering investigation against Mukhtar Ansari. (ANI)