LUCKNOW: Nikhat Ansari, the daughter-in-law of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and wife of his MLA son Abbas, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly planning her husband’s escape from jail.
The UP Police also recovered two mobile phones, Rs 21,000 in cash, some gold ornaments and Saudi Arabian currency from Nikhat when she had gone to the Chitrakoot jail to meet Abbas Ansari on Friday.
Meanwhile, the DIG jail has suspended eight police personnel over the incident including Jail Superintendent Ashok Kumar Sagar and deputy jailor Sushil Kumar, jail warden Jagmohan and unidentified jail employees who were on duty in Chitrakoot jail.
Abbas Ansari, a lawmaker from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has been in jail since November 2022 in connection with a money laundering case.
As per the police sources, Abbas’s wife Nikhat Ansari had reached Chitrakoot jail without making an entry into the visitor’s register on Friday. A team of the district administration and police conducted a surprise inspection at the jail on Friday and caught Nikhat inside a room next to the jail superintendent’s office. Police said she had entered the jail without completing the formalities. Abbas was also found using his wife's mobile phones inside the jail, while Nikhat has been accused of attempting to destroy data from her cellphone before police seized it.
On the basis of the complaint of Sub-Inspector in-charge of Ragauli Jail Police Station Shyamdev Singh, an FIR has been registered against five people, including Jail Superintendent, the deputy jailor, a constable, Nikhat and their driver.
They have been booked under various IPC sections, including 222 (intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed), 186 (Whoever voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions...), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 which deals with tampering with evidence, and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
"We have arrested Nikhat Bano and her driver in the case. The role of other accused are being probed,” said Bhanu Bhaskar, additional director-general (Prayagraj zone).
According to the police, Nikhat had visited the jail every day at around 11 am and stayed for around three to four hours. Abbas was also said to be using his wife’s cellphone to threaten witnesses and prosecuting officers as well as to extort money from people. She also allegedly used to bribe jail staff. Nikhat, with unidentified jail staff, was preparing an escape plan for Abbas, according to the FIR.
Chitrakoot DM Abhishek Anand and SP Vrinda Shukla had visited the prison in plain clothes as part of a surprise inspection during which they could not find Abbas Ansari in his barrack.
When questioned by the senior officials, a jail official revealed had that the MLA and his wife were in the room next to the superintendent’s office. When the team rushed to the room and found Nikhat there, but Abbas had by then been taken back to his barrack by a warden.