Former Indian Lawmaker, Mukhtar Ansari, Dies After Suffering Cardiac Arrest
A 63-year-old former gangster and Indian lawmaker, Mukhtar Ansari, passed away due to cardiac arrest in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
Mukhtar Ansari, who transitioned from being a gangster leader to a politician, had been incarcerated since 2005. However, his family has raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding his demise, suggesting that he might have been administered a poisonous substance while in jail.
According to BBC reports, security measures were heightened in the state as crowds gathered outside Ansari’s residence upon hearing the news of his demise.
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Ansari, who once led his own gang during the 1990s, faced over 60 criminal cases, including 15 murder charges. He ventured into politics, securing victory in his home constituency of Mau during the 1996 state elections and maintaining his position as a lawmaker until 2022.
In April 2023, Ansari was convicted for the murder of Krishnanand Rai, a legislator from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and received a 10-year prison sentence. Subsequently, earlier this month, he was handed a life sentence for a 1990 case involving counterfeit arms licenses.
On Thursday, authorities at the Banda district jail reported that Mukhtar Ansari was admitted to the hospital after complaining of vomiting. Despite receiving immediate medical attention from a team of nine doctors at Rani Durgavati Medical College, he succumbed to cardiac arrest.
Ansari’s brother, Afzal Ansari, a Member of Parliament from the state, alleged that foul play was involved, claiming that his brother had been poisoned. He stated, “Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in food in jail,” during a media briefing on Thursday, highlighting similar incidents in the past.
Mukhtar Ansari had been hospitalized earlier in the week following a fall in the washroom, as confirmed by jail authorities. After receiving initial treatment within the jail premises, he was transferred to the hospital for further care and discharged after 14 hours.
Following Ansari’s demise, Uttar Pradesh police enforced curfew orders in the state and conducted flag marches in certain areas as a precautionary measure.
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Ansari’s son, Umar Ansari, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of communication from authorities regarding his father’s deteriorating health, noting that he was denied access to visit him two days prior to his death.
The post-mortem examination of Mukhtar Ansari is scheduled for Friday.
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