Mayawati demands probe into death of gangster politician Mukhtar Ansari

BSP chief Mayawati demands high-level probe into death of gangster politician Mukhtar Ansari

Lucknow:

Socialist Party of the Philippines President Mayawati today called for a high-level investigation into the death of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, saying the truth in the case needs to be before the public.

Ansari, 63, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district on Thursday.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas chief said in a post on Real facts.”

Bhim Army founder and Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) president Chandra Shekhar Azad also demanded a CBI probe into Ansari’s death.

Azad posted in Hindi on Strength to bear this great loss.”

“Earlier, he had expressed fear that he would be murdered. I have requested an inquiry into his death by the Uttar Pradesh Allahabad High Court,” the Dalit leader added.

Azad’s party is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Ansari, 63, was brought to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail on Thursday evening in a “commatose state”, according to principal Suneel Kaushal , and died in the hospital due to cardiac arrest.

Ansari’s family claims he suffered chronic poisoning in prison, a charge denied by authorities.

Ansari was elected provincial councilor of Mau Sadar five times. He has been in jail in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He has more than 60 criminal cases pending against him.

He has been sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 in different courts in Uttar Pradesh and is lodged in Banda jail. His name appeared on a list of 66 gangsters released by the Uttar Pradesh police last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)