E-Paper
Lucknow properties in name of Mukhtar Ansari’s kin attached
This action was taken in connection with the provision under the Gangsters Act imposed on Ansari and his sister’s husband Eijaz-ul-Haque
Lucknow As part of the ongoing crackdown on jailed Mafioso-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and his associates, the Ghazipur district police on Saturday confiscated two properties worth ₹8 crore in the name of Ansari’s mother Rabia Khatoon and his sister Fahmina Ansari in Lucknow’s Dalibagh locality under Hazratganj police station limits.
The Ghazipur police said this action was taken in connection with the provision under the Gangsters Act imposed on Ansari and his sister’s husband Eijaz-ul-Haque. They said a board with a notice of attachment had been placed on both the properties near Butlerganj bandha in Dalibagh, which has the costliest rate of land in the state capital.
The police said the land measuring around 386.1524 square metres was in the name of Ansari’s mother Rabia Khatoon while the land measuring around 231.040 square metres was in the name of Fahmina Ansari and both the properties were reportedly purchased by Ansari with money generated through their criminal activities.
Earlier on October 28, the Ghazipur police had attached a property worth ₹ 12.5 crore owned by Ansari’s brother and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Afzal Ansari in in Dalibagh locality Lucknow, under the provisions of the Gangster Act,. The property was bought in the name of the MP’s wife, Farhat Ansari and developed in October 1998 with the money earned through his illegal activities. The property was situated in an area of 6,700 square feet and the MP’s family had been residing there.
On August 19, another property of the MP worth ₹12 crore in Macha village of Ghazipur was attached. The property was spread over an area of over 1 lakh sq ft, on which a two-storeyed building and a tin shed was constructed.
Similarly, four properties owned by Mukhtar Ansari’s aide Ganesh Dutt Mishra worth ₹14.20 crore were attached under the provisions of the Gangster Act in Ghazipur on October 12. The police said Mishra was an active member of Mukhtar Ansari’s gang.
Mukhtar Ansari was a five-time MLA from Mau constituency before leaving the seat to his son Abbas, who won the election in 2022. He has been in prison since 2004 and is currently lodged in Banda jail. A crackdown on him and his alleged gang members was launched in March, 2017, after the BJP came to power in the state. Since then, properties worth over ₹450 crore had been attached while illegal constructions and possessions were demolished.
In a state-wide crackdown against mafias and their aides, the Uttar Pradesh Police seized and demolished properties worth ₹2,550 crore since April 2017 when the Yogi Adityanath government formed the anti-mafia task force. These properties belonged to 62 mafias and were allegedly acquired through illegally earned money.
