Gatherings barred, security enhanced day after Mukhtar Ansari’s death

The authorities have barred gatherings in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and enhanced security around gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s residence and a hospital, where his post-mortem was expected to be conducted on Friday.
Ansari, 60, a former assembly member from Mau, died of a cardiac arrest on Thursday evening after he was hospitalized for a second time in a week. Ansari died a week after his lawyers filed an application in a special court, alleging that he was being slowly poisoned in prison. His family reiterated the allegation on Friday.
Sibgatullah Ansari, Mukhtar Ansari’s brother, accused the administration of delaying the postmortem and handing over his body to his family. News agency PTI cited unnamed officials and said Ansari’s post-mortem will be done in Banda and that it will be videographed.
Security was stepped up with the deployment of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force along with local police in Mau, Ghazipur, and Banda districts, and an alert was sounded across the state as soon as the news of Ansari’s death broke.
Ansari began his political career in 1997 when he won the Mau assembly seat for the first time on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket. He retained the seat in 2002 and 2007 as an independent after his expulsion from BSP. Ansari floated Quami Ekta Dal in 2012 before rejoining the BSP five years later.
BSP chief Mayawati on Friday demanded an inquiry into Ansari’s death, saying the truth of the case needs to come before the public. In a post on X, she said: “The persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari’s family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the true facts of his death can be revealed.”
Ansari faced 63 criminal cases, including 14 of murder. He was convicted and sentenced in eight cases since September 2022. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Krishnanand Rai’s murder was among the high-profile cases he faced.