Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster who transitioned into politics, passed away due to cardiac arrest after being hospitalized on Thursday evening. The 63-year-old, a five-time former MLA from Mau in Uttar Pradesh, had been incarcerated in jails in both Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005.
According to a medical bulletin, Ansari was rushed to Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda district by jail authorities after complaining of vomiting. Despite efforts from a team of nine doctors, he couldn't be revived and succumbed to a cardiac arrest.
Following his death, a large contingent of police was deployed outside the hospital, and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was enforced across Uttar Pradesh. Additional police personnel and teams from the Central Reserve Police Force were stationed in various districts including Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi.
Earlier hospitalizations had raised concerns about Ansari's health. His brother, Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari, alleged that Ansari had been poisoned twice in jail, most recently on March 19 or March 22. However, the prison department attributed his deteriorating health to other factors, stating that Ansari had fallen in the washroom before being rushed to the hospital on Tuesday.
With a notorious criminal history, Ansari had faced 61 criminal cases, including 15 murder charges. His involvement in extortion and kidnapping spanned districts in Uttar Pradesh. He was also charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2004 and was serving sentences for various crimes, including the murder of BJP MLA Krisnanand Rai and a fake gun license case from 1990.
The Samajwadi Party, in a post on social media, expressed condolences over Ansari's demise. Ansari had been elected as an MLA from Mau five times, twice on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket.
