These Five Events Narrate Stories Of The Terror That Mukhtar Ansari Wreaked On Purvanchal

On 28 March 2024, gangster-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, one of the faces of the bahubali era of Uttar Pradesh politics between 1980-2010, died from cardiac arrest in Banda jail of the state.

Ansari’s family has claimed that he had been poisoned, but no evidence that support the allegation has emerged.

The Samajwadi Party has paid 'humble tribute' to Ansari after his death. Those who shielded him from legal consequences while he was alive are now trying to reshape his image in order to reap electoral benefit.

Ansari's reign of terror in Purvanchal is vividly portrayed through five chilling events that narrate the stories of his ruthless rampage.

Murder Of Krishnanand Rai

Krishnanand Rai was a veteran and highly influential Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. From the late 1990s, he had emerged as a challenger to the dominance of Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari in Mohammadabad. In 2002 assembly elections, Rai, on BJP ticket, defeated Afzal Ansari.

Afzal Ansari had held the seat from 1985, and Rai snatching it meant the beginning of the end of Ansari brothers’ dominance in Mohammadabad and eastern UP.

The Ansari brothers were eying an opportunity for revenge, which they got on 29 November 2005. Rai’s convoy near Basaniya Chatti was ambushed by the Ansari gang. A total of 500 rounds of bullets were fired on Rai and six others. 67 bullets were recovered by police.

On 29 April 2023, Mukhtar Ansari was handed 10 years of imprisonment by Ghazipur MP/MLA Court for his involvement in Rai’s murder.

Murder Of Awadhesh Rai

Mukhtar Ansari was trying to establish himself in the late 1980s in Varanasi. One of the challengers to his supremacy was Awadhesh Rai, brother of Ajay Rai, current UP unit chief of Congress. The rivalry turned bloody on 3 August 1991, when Mukhtar Ansari and his minions came to Rai’s house in a van. The Rai brothers were standing outside their house.

Suddenly, the Ansari gang rained down bullets towards both. Due to being at the forefront, Awadhesh became an easy target. The van later flew from the scene. The terror of Mukhtar Ansari was so big that no one came out of the nearest police station.

Later, Ajay Rai took up the legal fight, and on 5 June 2023, Varanasi MP/MLA Court awarded life imprisonment to Mukhtar Ansari for the murder.

Role In Mau Riots

After 1995, Mukhtar Ansari had carved out a dominant space for himself in Mau. It was visibly clear in 2005, when he fuelled the communal fire. On 14 October 2005, Bharat Milap ceremony of Ramayan was to be performed by artists. Students from nearby madarsa came and tore away the wire of the audio part. Police took them in custody, but Mukhtar Ansari intervened and students were let go.

The returning crowd were met with hostile receptions. Soon, it turned violent. Shops belonging to Hindus were burnt. Police imposed curfew.

Amidst curfew, Mukhtar Ansari and his people started to roam around the city in an open jeep. They were armed with guns. Near Salahabad turn, the Ansari gang forced shopkeepers to run away.

As he proceeded further, a huge crowd of rioters started looting. They fired bullets, terrorised locals and burned down what they could not loot. Clearly, Ansari’s convoy had made the job easier for rioters.

The city kept burning for 35 days. 17 people were killed, 100s of houses and shops were turned to dust by the rioters. Ansari had forced officers sent by the state government to sit in a building and watch the proceedings.

For the first time in history, Indian Railways was not able to send its trains to Mau.

When Yogi Adityanath went to quell the riots, Ansari got his convoy attacked. This is considered a significant event in Ansari's journey.

Nationwide outrage led to the arrest of Ansari and after that he was barely seen outside jail premises.

Jailor R K Tiwari Murder Case

As a jail superintendent, Ramakant Tiwari, was known for his no-nonsense attitude towards criminals. Mukhtar Ansari was one of the criminals under him in Lucknow jail. Tiwari’s efforts did not bode well for Ansari and his minions. On 4 February 1999, he was shot dead near Raj Bhawan.

Police and Special Task Force (STF) investigated the crime. More than 250 people were interrogated. Many were picked overnight for custody. Police were able to establish a correlative link between Tiwari’s murder and Ansari. The immediate cause of the rift is said to be punishment meted out by Tiwari to Bablu Upadhyay, a close aide of Ansari in Lucknow jail.

On 23 September 2022, Ansari was handed a five-year jail term for his involvement in the act.

Fake Arms Licence Case

Ansari’s life revolved around arms. Getting legal arms is not easy in India. Ansari violated the Arms Act on multiple occasions. He forged documents, indulged in cheating and criminal conspiracies to keep his gang going.

In one such act of 1988, law enforcement officials were able to trace Ansari's involvement. Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also took charge of the case. 

Despite that it took 36 years for the hands of justice to take Ansari under its grip. He was handed life imprisonment on 16 March 2024.

Ansari had a total 61 cases against him, out of which only eight resulted in conviction. The Yogi Adityanath administration has seized properties worth hundreds of crores from people connected with Ansari.