Ghazipur: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari along with his associate Bhim Singh has been sentenced to 10 years in jail in a case dating back to 1996, sources said. They have been fined Rs 5 lakh each. As per the sources, the sentence was pronounced under the Gangsters Act in connection with case.
The verdict was to be pronounced on November 25 but was postponed to December 15 due to the transfer of the judge of the concerned court. The cross-examination and testimony in the case were completed on Monday. The conviction comes a day after Ansari was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case after he was produced before a court in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
Also read: ED arrests UP gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in money laundering case
Ansari, a five-time former MLA, has been lodged in a jail at Banda in Uttar Pradesh for the last few years in connection with criminal cases being probed by the state police. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year. He was taken into custody by the ED under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was produced on Wednesday before a local court in Prayagraj on the basis of a production warrant moved by the agency, according to official sources.
His MLA son Abbas Ansari was also arrested by the federal probe agency in November after questioning him at its sub-zonal office in Prayagraj. This was followed by the arrest of Mukhtar Ansari's brother-in-law Atif Raza. The agency has also issued a lookout circular against Mukhtar Ansari's wife Afsan Ansari as she has not deposed before it even after being summoned.
The money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari stems from multiple FIRs lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police apart from two more FIRs lodged against a company called Vikas Constructions (a partnership firm) that was run by his wife, two brothers-in-law (including Atif Raza) and others. Mukhtar Ansari is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases lodged against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion.
