LUCKNOW: Following the death of jailed gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari due to a cardiac arrest during treatment at Banda Medical College on Thursday night, the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court of the district ordered a judicial inquiry into it on Friday.
The court appointed MP/MLA court judge Garima Singh to conduct the probe into Ansari’s death and submit the report within a month to the Banda Chief Judicial Magistrate.
The probe was ordered into Mukhtar’s death after his family members, including his son Umar Ansari, called it an organized murder, and a number of political parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Congress, cast aspersions on the jail administration and the medical authorities of Banda.
However, the BJP responded to the Opposition's accusations, saying the masses should be aware of their tactics of communal polarization at the times of an election.
Meanwhile, to clear all doubts over the death, a panel of five doctors conducted the postmortem examination of Ansari’s body.
The process was performed in the presence of family members and was videographed.
Earlier in the day, Mukhtar’s son Umar Ansari alleged that his father was subjected to slow poisoning in jail, about which the gangster had written an open letter to the Banda MP/MLA court.
“My father had told us he was being subjected to slow poisoning,” Umar Ansari said while talking to media persons.
He added that the entire country knew about it now. Mukhtar’s brother Afzal Ansari, who had met him in the hospital, had told media persons on Tuesday that the Banda Medical College had set up a team of doctors, and treatment was ongoing.
“He is in the ICU, and I met him for five minutes. He is conscious. He told me that he has been given some poisonous substance in his food. And that this has happened the second time. It happened 40 days ago too. In this condition, at least he was sent to the hospital. I am thankful for it… If the hospital in Banda can’t provide proper treatment, then he should be referred to some higher medical facility in time,” Afzal, the sitting BSP MP and SP candidate from Ghazipur, said.
It may be noted that Mukhtar, on complaint of abdominal unease and pain, was admitted to Banda Medical College on March 26. He remained under observation for 15 hours and went through all the necessary tests, which showed that he was suffering from acidity and gastritis due to constipation. He was sent back to the jail after treatment.
However, responding to his letter to the MP/MLA court, Banda CMO had set up a panel to inquire into his apprehensions, but in the probe, nothing was corroborated, said the sources.
Meanwhile, amid the heavy deployment of security personnel in several districts of eastern UP, including Ghazipur, Mau, Varanasi, and Banda, and prohibitory orders in force, Mukhtar’s body was taken to his native district Ghazipur for last rites covering over 400 km distance from Banda.
After the autopsy, the body of the gangster was handed over to his son Umar, and it was ferried to Ghazipur in a convoy of 20 four-wheelers escorted by two deputy SP rank officers and two trucks full of police force.
The burial is expected to take place after morning namaz on Saturday as the body was expected to reach Mohammadabad in Ghazipur late on Friday night.
Meanwhile, his elder son, who is lodged in Kasganj jail in connection with multiple cases, moved the Supreme Court of India seeking permission to participate in the last rites of his father. Earlier, he had moved the Allahabad High Court but failed to get his application mentioned.
