Mukhtar Ansari, a well-known gangster and now a political figure, was sentenced to five and a half years of rigorous imprisonment by a court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday evening. Prashant Kumar, special director general of law and order, said the sentence was the second the court had handed down to a former BSP MP. The sentence comes just days after Ansari’s son filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking his transfer from UP jail. His son Abbas Ansari, a member of Suheldev’s BSP party (PTI), won the seat.
Mukhtar Ansari was sentenced to prison for threatening the Witness
Mukhtar Ansari, a notorious gangster-turned-politician, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years rigorous imprisonment by a Member of Parliament (Member of the Lower House of Parliament) and a fine of 10,000 rupees by a District Magistrate in connection with a case of alleged threats to a witness in connection with the murder of a coal entrepreneur in 1991. Mukhtar has been convicted in seven cases so far, the most recent of which was the 1991 case in which he was convicted as a gangster and sentenced to life in prison in June this year.
Mukhtar Ansari has been convicted for the seventh time in the last 15 months for witness intimidation in the murder of coal merchant Nand Kumar Rungta. A five-time BSP MLA, Ansari has been in jail since 2005 and is currently lodged in Banda Jail. “Mukhtar has been convicted seven times in the last one-and-a-half years, including life imprisonment in the Awadhesh Rungta murder case,” the Director General of Law and Order said. On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government also told the Supreme Court that if necessary, it would increase security inside Banda Jail for Ansari and ensure that the former politician does not suffer. Ansari’s son, Umar Ansari, claims that the family is under “pressure” from the state.
A petition filed in the Supreme Court earlier this month sought directions to transfer him from Uttar Pradesh’s Banda jail to any jail in the state where the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is not in power. The petition seeks to ensure the safety and protection of the detained person inside the prison. On a plea to transfer the detained person outside Uttar Pradesh, the ASG prayed for time to seek directions from the Chief Justice of India. ASG KM Nataraj assured that if necessary, additional security measures would be taken to ensure that Mukhtar was not harmed. The council said in a written order on Friday that it would look into the matter.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education