Jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari has been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, in a 32-year-old murder case. He has also been fined ?1,00,000. This marks Ansari’s sixth conviction out of the 61 criminal cases against him, with 20 other cases still awaiting trial in different parts of the state.
The murder case in question dates back to 1991 when Ansari was accused of killing Congress leader Awadhesh Rai, brother of former MLA Ajay Rai. The incident occurred outside Ajay Rai’s house in Varanasi, as Ansari was beginning to gain political prominence. Security was tightened at the court complex leading up to the verdict. Ajay Rai, who is now a regional chief of Congress’s Uttar Pradesh unit, expressed satisfaction with the judgement, stating, “This is the end of our 32-year struggle against a notorious criminal… Because of our lawyers’ efforts, today the court has found Mukhtar guilty in the murder case of my brother.” He emphasized the importance of standing up against gangsters and fighting for justice, acknowledging the threats they faced during their pursuit of justice.
Mukhtar Ansari, a five-term MLA, has previously received a 10-year jail term in an unrelated kidnapping and murder case. He is known to be involved in numerous criminal activities, including land grabbing, murder, and extortion. The Varanasi MP MLA court concluded the hearing for the Awadhesh Rai case on May 19, reserving its order and setting June 5 as the date for the verdict. Ansari’s political victories have occurred while he was incarcerated, with his son Abbas Ansari winning the Uttar Pradesh assembly election in 2022.
Notably, Mukhtar Ansari was also implicated in the high-profile political murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in November 2005. He allegedly used an AK-47 rifle in the killing, with 400 bullet shells reportedly recovered from the scene, and 21 bullets extracted from Rai’s body.
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