Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh): The last rites of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who died of cardiac arrest on Thursday night were held on Saturday. His mortal remains were buried near the graves of his parents at Kalibag graveyard amid high security. Massive crowd gathered outside the Mohammadabad residence of Mukhtar Ansari.
The body was taken to the Kali Bagh burial ground in a procession led by family members, including his son Umar Ansari and brother Afzal Ansari. A large crowd accompanied the procession and some also raised slogans. Police faced a tough time in managing the crowd who tried to force their way into the burial ground where entry was restricted. Security personnel, including that of the paramilitary, were deployed at strength around the Ansari residence and the burial ground.
After the post-mortem on Friday, a convoy carrying Ansari's body left Banda for his native place in Ghazipur amid heavy security. The ambulance carrying the body was accompanied by police vehicles along the 400-kilometre route via several Uttar Pradesh districts.
"We received the body after some delay so the last rites cannot be performed tonight. It will be done tomorrow morning. I request everybody to pray for him," Sibgatullah Ansari told ANI on Friday. Earlier in the day, the body of Mukhtar Ansari was taken from Banda to Ghazipur after the completion of the post-mortem at Banda Medical College and Hospital. The post-mortem on gangster-politician confirmed that he died of cardiac arrest.
Ansari died in a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. His family, however, has Meanwhile, a three-member team will conduct a magisterial investigation into the death of Ansari. The Chief Judicial Magistrate Banda issued orders concerning the judicial probe. Officials said a panel of two doctors will do the post-mortem, which will be videographed.
Umar Ansari, the son of Mukhtar Ansari, told ANI that he had written a letter demanding that the postmortem be done by doctors at AIIMS, Delhi. "It (post-mortem) is their procedure. I have written a letter saying that it should be done by doctors at AIIMS Delhi. We don't trust the medical system, government and administration here. You know why I am saying this. Panchnama is done. District Magistrate has to make a decision. Let's see what he decides. The postmortem has not begun," he said.
"We hope that the court will help investigate the suspicions that we are expressing. We will consult our legal team. We are confident that this is not a natural death but an orchestrated murder," he added. According to the official release from the hospital, Ansari was brought to the hospital around 8:25 pm on Thursday.
A team of nine doctors attended to him before he died, the release added. Sibgatullah Ansari, Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother, claimed on Friday that the administration did not inform him and he learned about his brother's death through the media. Earlier, Umar Ansari had claimed that his father was "given poison in the food" and said "they would move the judiciary".
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. (With agency inputs)
