Don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari gets life imprisonment in murder case

Varanasi: A special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi awarded life imprisonment to jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in the 1991 Awadhesh Rai murder case.

On August 3, 1991, Congress leader and brother of former MLA Ajay Rai, Awadhesh Rai, was shot dead outside Ajay Rai’s house in Varanasi. “Ansari was presented before the court through video conference where the court convicted him under Sections 145 and 302,” said Advocate Vikash Singh.

Reacting to the court’s judgement Ajay Rai said, “Today, we have won after a 32-year-long battle. We welcome the verdict of the court.”

Earlier while waiting for the court to pronounce the quantum of sentence, Rai had said, “We have faith in the judicial system. We hope he gets the maximum possible punishment. Mafia Mukhtar Ansari tried to tamper with the evidence several times.”

The Special Court which concluded the hearing after arguments on May 19, reserved its order, and fixed June 5 as the date to deliver it. In the case of the killing of Awadhesh Rai, Ajay Rai had named Mukhtar Ansari, Bhim Singh and former MLA Abdul Kalim, in the FIR.

On May 17, a Ghazipur MP-MLA Court acquitted Mukhtar Ansari accused in a case of conspiracy of a murder attempt in Uttar Pradesh’s Mohammadabad area in the district.

In 2009, Mir Hasan filed a case of attempt to murder against Ansari under Section 120B. A case under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against Ansari at Mohammadabad police station in Ghazipur.