The death of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in Uttar Pradesh, turned controversial after his son Umar Ansari claimed that his father was being given “slow poison" in prison. He added that the family will move court to bring out the truth.
Ansari was brought to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail in "an unconscious state" and, according to its principal Suneel Kaushal, he died at the hospital following cardiac arrest.
“I was not told anything from the administration side. I came to know about it through the media. But now the whole nation knows everything. I came to meet him two days ago, but I was not allowed," Umar Ansari told reporters according to ANI.
"We said this earlier too and we are again saying this today. On March 19, he was poisoned in the dinner. We will move the judiciary, we have full faith in it."
"Post-mortem will be conducted on Friday. After that, they will give us the body. We will then follow with the further process (cremation). My father said he was being given a slow poison," his son added.
Mukhtar Ansari (63) was a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar. He had been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He had over 60 criminal cases pending against him. He was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts in Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail. His name was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.
Soon after his death, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bars large gatherings, were imposed across the state and additional security personnel deployed in the Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts, according to Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar.
The social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police has also been activated to keep a close watch on unlawful elements online, the police chief said.
According to a medical bulletin, Ansari was brought to the medical college around 8.25pm on Thursday in an unconscious state after he had complained of vomiting. A team of nine doctors attended to him but he died of cardiac arrest, it stated.
Officials at the police headquarters in Lucknow said Ansari's post-mortem will be done in Banda and it will be videographed. The viscera will be preserved if needed, they said.
Earlier, Ansari was hospitalised for around 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain. Mukhtar Ansari's brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari had then alleged that the former was subjected to "slow poisoning" in jail, but the charge denied by the authorities.
Leaders condemn UP government's negligence
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi condoled Ansaari's death and said 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.
Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav also condoled 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," Tejashwi Yadav said in post in Hindi on X.
"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," the former Bihar deputy chief minister added.
"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 Samajwai Party 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.
The Chief Justice of India 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.
(With PTI inputs)