Banda (UP): Soon after the death of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, the deceased politician's son, Umar Ansari on early Friday alleged that he was subjected to slow poisoning in jail. However, the charge has been denied by authorities.
Earlier, Mukhtar's brother Afzal Ansari, who is also the Ghazipur MP, alleged that his brother was given 'slow poison' in jail.
"Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in food in jail. This happened for the second time. Around 40 days ago also he was given poison. And recently on March 19 of March 22, he was again given this (poison) due to which his condition is bad," Afzal Ansari said.
Afzal Ansari also said that during the virtual hearing of a case in a Barabanki court on March 21, Mukhtar's lawyer had applied to the court alleging that his client had been given "slow poison" in jail due to which his condition was deteriorating.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi also dwelt on this theory and said that despite serious allegations over the former MLA being poisoned, the state government did not pay attention to his treatment. "Condemnable and regrettable," Owaisi said in a post in Hindi X.
On the other hand, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bars large gatherings, were imposed across the state and additional security personnel were deployed in the Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts of the state after the politician's death.
Ansari died after suffering a 'heart attack' at a hospital in Banda district after his health deteriorated on Thursday. He was 63.
Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were imposed across the state and teams of the Central Reserve Police Force along with the local police deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi.
Sources said that Ansari, who had been lodged in Banda jail, suffered a heart attack and fell in his barrack. He was admitted to the hospital in Banda. On Tuesday, Ansari was taken to a hospital from Banda jail and was later discharged. According to jail sources, Ansari's condition deteriorated on Thursday evening after which he was rushed to the hospital. Ansari had served as an MLA from Mau several times.
The Samajwadi Party, taking to X (formerly Twitter), condoled Ansari's death."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 loss. Humble tribute," the party said in a post in Hindi on X.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar chief minister Tejashwi Yadav also expressed grief at Ansari's death."Got the sad news of the demise of former UP MLA Shri Mukhtar Ansari. We pray to God to grant peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family to bear the loss.
"A few days ago he had complained that he had been poisoned in jail, yet it was not taken seriously. Prima facie this does not seem justifiable and humane. Constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases and incidents," Tejashwi Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X.
Former Bihar MP Pappu Yadav, who joined the Congress recently, termed Ansari's death an "institutional murder" and demanded a court-monitored probe into it.
"Former MLA Mukhtar Ansari's institutional murder... It is like burying the law, Constitution, natural justice," Pappu Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X. "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognizance of this! There should be a court-monitored impartial investigation," the Congress leader said.
"He was making allegations for several days that he was being given slow poison. His MP brother also made this allegation. This is an indelible blot on the country's constitutional system," he added.
Earlier this month, a special MP/MLA court in Varanasi had sentenced Mukhtar Ansari to life imprisonment in a 34-year-old fake arms licence case. The case against Ansari was registered under IPC sections 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), along with provisions of the Arms Act at Mohammadabad police station of Ghazipur district in December 1990, he said.
According to the government counsel, Ansari had joined the court proceedings via video conference from Banda Jail. According to police officials, around 60 cases were pending against Ansari in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, New Delhi and other states. (With PTI Inputs)
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