Mukhtar Ansari to appear in 2 cases virtually today from Banda jail
There are 52 cases against Mukhtar Ansari in Uttar Pradesh. He was brought back to the state from Punjab on April 7.
Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari will be presented before a court in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, news agency ANI reported. Ansari is an accused in the 21-year-old assault case involving the jailor and deputy jailor in Lucknow.
The hearing will take place vis video conferencing and Ansari will join from Banda jail, ANI further reported. The case couldn't move forward because Ansari was lodged in a jail in Punjab; he was brought to Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.
There are 52 cases against Mukhtar Ansari in Uttar Pradesh, and the government hopes that many of these will see some movement now.
Ansari will also appear at Punjab's Mohali court in connection with an extortion case, according to ANI.
UP Police on April 7 brought Ansari, who is the sitting Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Mau Vidhan Sabha seat to Banda prison, on the order of Supreme Court. He had spent over two years in Punjab prison.
Since coming to Uttar Pradesh, Ansari has been complaining of a number of health-related issues. On Thursday, he complained of pain in the neck after which the hospital authorities called an ENT specialist, Hindustan Times' sister publication Livehindustan reported. The doctor detected sore throat and gave medicines accordingly.
On Saturday, Mukhtar Ansari claimed of clouded vision. An eye specialist suggested getting a new pair of spectacles, according to Livehindustan.
Last week, the Supreme Court adjourned the plea of his wife Afshan Ansari alleging 'grave threat' to the life of her husband. The court adjourned the matter as a letter for the same was already circulated by one of the parties in the case.
Afshan, while alleging an imminent threat to Ansari's life, sought the intervention of the top court to ensure that her husband is not killed in a so-called fake encounter.
The Supreme Court had on March 26 ordered that Ansari be shifted to an Uttar Pradesh jail from Punjab, keeping in view the fact that he is allegedly involved in many criminal cases.
The Uttar Pradesh government had filed the petition in the top court seeking a direction to the Punjab government and Rupnagar jail authority to immediately hand over the custody of Ansari, to the district jail Banda.