Received Blessings Of Baba Vishwanath And Baba Gorakhnath: Son Of Krishnanand Rai, Former BJP MLA Killed By Mukhtar Ansari

The family of former BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, who was killed by Mukhtar Ansari in 2005, on Friday (29 March) said that the death of the notrorious gangster was a "blessing of the almighty".

“What can I say? This is the blessing of the Almighty. I used to pray to him for justice and the justice has been served today. We never celebrated Holi after the incident (the murder), I felt that today is Holi for us,” Alka Rai, wife of Krishnanand Rai, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

“My mother and I have received the blessings of Baba Vishwanath and Baba Gorakhnath,” Krishnanand Rai's son Piyush Rai said.

Ansari, who died of cardiac arrest on Thursday (28 March), was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai by an MP MLA court in April 2023.

On 29 November 2005, Krishnanand Rai was on his way back home after attending an event.

At around 1.30 pm, the BJP leader's convoy was ambushed at a narrow bridge in Ussarchati locality in Bhawarkol area of Ghazipur.

A volley of bullets fired at Rai, along with six others in Ghazipur, led to their death. The assassination was carried out by a group of assailants armed with AK-47 assault rifles. The police had recovered more than 400 bullet shells from the spot while 21 bullets were recovered from Rai’s body alone.

Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari were named as the primary conspirators in the FIR filed in the case. The police investigation also revealed the involvement of gangster Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi, a close associate of the Ansari brothers.

Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari, who had lost assembly election to Rai in Mohammadabad seat, were named the main conspirators. 

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