Mukhtar Ansari, don and politician who once ruled eastern UP, dies after heart attack in jail

Mukhtar Ansari, once among Uttar Pradesh’s most dreaded gang leaders who represented the Mau assembly seat between 1997 and 2022, died following a cardiac arrest on Thursday evening in Banda.

Ansari, 60, was brought to the Rani Durgawati Medical College from the Banda prison for a second time in a week shortly before he was declared dead. He was admitted for 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain.

“At approximately 8.25pm, Ansari was brought to the emergency wing in an unconscious state after having complained of vomiting. A team of nine doctors gave urgent medical attention to the patient, but despite efforts, he died of a cardiac arrest,” said a bulletin issued by the hospital.

The state police chief confirmed the death citing hospital authorities. “As per the medical bulletin shared by the Banda medical college, Mukhtar Ansari is dead,” said director general of police, Prashant Kumar.

Security was stepped up in Mau, Ghazipur and Banda districts — regions where Ansari held sway, and an alert was sounded across the state.

“Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) teams have been deployed along with local police in these districts,” the DGP said.

Last week, Ansari’s lawyers filed an application in the Barabanki special court to try politicians, alleging that he was being slowly poisoned through the food being served to him in prison.

A senior official said Ansari was admitted to the medical college in a very critical condition and was declared dead after being given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Another official, at the UP Police headquarters who asked not to be named, said police deployment had also been stepped up in Varanasi and adjoining eastern Uttar Pradesh regions and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in sensitive districts.

Ansari for decades was regarded as one of eastern UP’s most dreaded gangsters, a reign that involved deadly rivalries with other gangster-politicians, some of whom he and his associates have been accused or convicted of assassinating.

He was lodged in different prisons in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh since 2005, when he was first arrested for inciting violence.

His political career saw him represent the Mau Vidhan Sabha seat for five terms, winning it for the first time as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. He was then expelled the party but continued to win the seat – in 2002 and 2007 as an independent, and in 2012 under the banner of his party Quami Ekta Dal — before he rejoined the BSP in 2017.

In the 2022 state elections, Mukhtar passed the baton to his son Abbas, who won the Mau seat, while Suhaib Anasri, Sibgatullah’s son, won his home turf Mohammadabad on an SP ticket. Ansari’s brother Afzal represented the Ghazipur Lok Sabha constituency twice.

Ansari was accused in 63 criminal cases, including 14 of murder, and was convicted and sentenced in eight of these since September 2022. Among the most high profile of these cases were the murders of the then sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005 and of Awadesh Rai (brother of current Congress president Ajay Rai) in 1991.

The Rais (who were unrelated) and Ansari and his brothers were widely regarded as the many bahubali politicians of eastern UP, drawing on the Hindi word for a strongman.

On December 4, 2023, Ansari’s son Umar filed a petition in the Supreme Court stating that his father faced a threat to his life in jail and appealed for him to be transferred outside of the state to a state ruled by any party other than the BJP. The plea was rejected.

The Samajwadi Party condoled Ansari’s death.

“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 party said in a post in Hindi on X.