Once a political bigwig, Mukhtar Ansari evaded conviction using ‘delay tactics’

He managed to retain his assembly membership for nearly 27 years by not getting convicted in any of the case, said police officials

For over three decades, Mukhtar Ansari had been using legal tactics and political clout to delay court proceedings against him. He stonewalled police’s efforts to frame charges in many cases out of the 62 FIRs registered against him not only in U.P. but also in other states, said senior police and prosecution officials on Monday.

Ansari’s conviction in the Awadesh Rai murder case came after 32 years. (File)

As a result of Ansari’s delay tactics, a Lucknow court had acquitted him in a case registered for threatening the jailor of the Lucknow district jail in 2003. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, however, overturned his acquittal and sentenced him to seven years of imprisonment on September 21, 2022, nearly 19 years after the incident.

Similarly, Ansari’s conviction in the Awadesh Rai murder case came after 32 years.

“Ansari’s delay tactics helped him to avoid being charged in cases in which he feared of getting convicted. He managed to retain his assembly membership for nearly 27 years by not getting convicted in any of the cases,” said a senior police official aware of the development.

Recent acquittal

On May 17 this year, a Ghazipur MP/MLA court acquitted Ansari in a 2009 attempt to murder case for lack of sufficient evidence. According to a lawyer, in 2009, one Meer Hasan, a resident of Mohammadabad, had lodged a complaint alleging that one Sonu Yadav had attacked him with the intent to kill. A case was registered under section 307 (attempt to murder) at the Mohammadabad police station. Later, the police included Ansari’s name in the FIR. It was alleged that Mukhtar had hatched the conspiracy of this attempt to murder.

Tiff between U.P, Punjab over Mukhtar

Ansari reportedly got himself shifted to the Ropad jail of Punjab in January 2019 as he feared threat to his life after his one-time close aide and shooter Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi was killed by gangster Sunil Rathi inside the Baghpat jail on July 9, 2018.

The Punjab police took him to Ropad after producing a B-warrant in an extortion case lodged against him by a businessman there. He remained there for nearly 26 months before being brought to U.P. despite the northern state’s reluctance to transfer him. The U.P. government had to approach the Supreme Court to bring him back to the state.

Wife, younger son on the run

While Ansari’s wife Afsa and younger son Umar are absconding after non-bailable warrants were issued against them in different courts, his elder son Abbas and his wife Nikhat Bano are lodged in Kasganj and Chitrakoot jails.

While Abbas, the MLA from Mau, was recently transferred from Chitrakoot to Kasganj after his arrest in connection with a disproportionate assets case, his wife Nikhat and driver Niyaz Ansari were arrested on February 11 from inside the jail.

The jail authorities had allegedly facilitated the frequent visits of the MLA’s wife.