LUCKNOW Three aides of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari were arrested by the Barabanki police on Tuesday in connection with the fake registration of a luxury ambulance used by Ansari for reaching court and other places while being lodged in a Punjab jail, said police on Wednesday.
Those arrested were Feroz Qureshi, Shahid alias Qurban and Surendra Sharma. The trio was wanted in the case and carried a reward of ₹25,000 each on their head, Barabanki cops stated in their tweet. Ansari is currently lodged in Banda jail since April 9, after being brought back to UP jail on Supreme Court’s order.
The three accused were private security guards and driver of the ambulance. They always remained present in the ambulance whenever Ansari travelled in it, stated an official.
He said they confessed their involvement in the crime and stated that they left the ambulance abandoned at a roadside eatery in Ropad when the media highlighted the issue on April 1.
So far, the Barabanki police had arrested 10 people in this connection while two more accused, Zafar alias Chanda and Afroz Khan alias Chunnu, were still at large. Those arrested earlier included Dr Alka Rai, her brother Sheshnath Rai, Rajnath Yadav, Anand Yadav, Mohammed Shoaib Mujahid, Saleem and Ali Mohammed Jafari alias Shahid.
The ambulance was registered with a fake address of Barabanki in the name of Dr Alka Rai’s hospital in Mau since December 2013 and was being used by Ansari for his transportation from jails. The Barabanki police had registered an FIR against Dr Rai and others on April 1, after the registration of the ambulance was found fake.
{{/usCountry}}The ambulance was registered with a fake address of Barabanki in the name of Dr Alka Rai’s hospital in Mau since December 2013 and was being used by Ansari for his transportation from jails. The Barabanki police had registered an FIR against Dr Rai and others on April 1, after the registration of the ambulance was found fake.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Barabanki assistant road transport officer (ARTO) Pankaj Singh. On April 3, the police constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case.