Lucknow: When jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of a coronary heart assault in Banda final 12 months, many believed it was a blow to the nexus between crime and politics in jap Uttar Pradesh. However a 12 months later, the previous five-time MLA’s household is within the headlines once more. Lucknow police final week arrested his youthful son, Umar Ansari, for allegedly submitting solid paperwork in court docket to reclaim his father’s seized properties.

Some stated the timing of Umar’s arrest was no coincidence. The arrest got here as Umar was reportedly getting ready to contest the upcoming bypolls for the Mau Meeting seat, a constituency the household has held for the previous 29 years.

Mukhtar’s elder brother, Afzal Ansari, the Member of Parliament from Ghazipur, linked Umar’s arrest to the upcoming Mau bypoll, claiming Umar enjoys robust public help.

He stated that Umar was being focused to interrupt his spirit, however the household wasn’t afraid. “He doesn’t drink, doesn’t have any disputes with anybody—all he does is twirl his moustache, and that alone bothers some folks,” he stated.

In keeping with Afzal, Umar was staying at his elder brother Abbas Ansari’s official residence in Lucknow when the police picked him up. “I used to be in Delhi for the Parliament session once I heard in regards to the incident. I used to be knowledgeable {that a} case had been filed that night, and primarily based on that, Umar was arrested. The police’s bias will not be hidden now.”

Police registered a felony case towards Umar in Ghazipur. He was taken into custody and later transferred there. Officers stated Umar has been accused of making an attempt to illegally reclaim a property that had been seized underneath the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Actions (Prevention) Act, 1986.

Investigators declare Umar filed a petition in court docket in search of the discharge of the confiscated property, however throughout doc verification, it was allegedly discovered that he submitted solid papers with pretend signatures of his mom, Afsa Ansari, who has been on the run for years.

Uttar Pradesh police officers ThePrint spoke to stated Umar will both should admit to forging the signatures himself or reveal that he had been involved with Afsa. They added that properties price an estimated Rs 200 crore linked to the late Mukhtar Ansari and his associates have both been seized, freed or demolished to date.

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Ansari political dynasty underneath siege

The Ansari household has dominated the native political panorama for many years.

Mukhtar Ansari was born right into a distinguished Muslim household: His father, Haji Subhanullah Ansari, was a Communist chief, and his grandfather, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, was a Congress chief and freedom fighter.

Mukhtar obtained into pupil politics whereas learning at Put up Graduate School, Ghazipur. He took the political plunge formally in 1996 when he received an election on a Bahujan Samaj Get together (BSP) ticket.

Mukhtar held the Mau Sadar seat from 1996, successful twice on a BSP ticket (1996 and 2017), twice as an unbiased (2002 and 2007), and as soon as as a Quami Ekta Dal candidate in 2012. He died of a cardiac arrest in Banda jail in March 2024.

Having initially labored in property and contracts, by the early Nineteen Nineties he turned synonymous with land offers and tender-related gang wars in jap Uttar Pradesh—particularly Ghazipur, Mau, and Varanasi.

In 2005, Mukhtar was accused within the daylight homicide of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and 6 others. This was broadly seen as a revenge killing, as Rai had defeated Mukhtar’s brother, Afzal, within the 2002 elections. Nevertheless, in 2019, a CBI court docket acquitted Mukhtar and others within the case. Since 2020, the UP police have intensified motion towards the Ansari gang.

After arresting Umar Ansari, Uttar Pradesh police have now intensified their efforts to hint Afsa Ansari who has been on the run for years and didn’t seem publicly even after her husband’s dying. In keeping with Uttar Pradesh police officers, Afsa Ansari is a needed accused in a number of circumstances and carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head.

In April this 12 months, Ghazipur district police urged the folks to supply any data that might help in her arrest. Separate rewards of Rs 50,000 every have been introduced by the police departments of each Ghazipur and Mau districts.

All eyes on the household bastion

With Umar’s arrest and Abbas’s disqualification, the Ansari household is struggling to carry on to its household stronghold.

Furthermore, with Afsa Ansari, the spouse of Mukhtar Ansari, on the run, the Ansari household is discovering it tough to determine on a candidate for the upcoming bye-election. Presently, two names are being thought of: Nusrat Ansari, daughter of Afzal Ansari, and Nikhat Ansari, spouse of Abbas Ansari.

Nusrat, who can be a theatre artist, turned actively concerned within the political scene final 12 months whereas campaigning for her father within the Ghazipur parliamentary elections.

Nikhat, alternatively, was launched from jail in 2023 after being arrested for unlawfully coming into the jail to satisfy her husband, Abbas Ansari.

Sources prompt a remaining name can be taken after Afzal meets Samajwadi Get together (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav.

The BJP sees this as a possibility to seize a seat that has been a stronghold of Mukhtar Ansari and his household for practically 30 years. Get together insiders say the BJP has already activated its organisational community within the Muslim-dominated constituency.

The technique, sources say, is to duplicate the momentum seen in related bypoll wins in Muslim-majority seats like Rampur (2022) and Kundarki (2024).

Presently, two members of the Ansari household maintain elected positions in Parliament and the state meeting. Afzal Ansari, Mukhtar’s brother, received the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Ghazipur constituency. One other member of the family, Suhaib Ansari, serves as an MLA in Uttar Pradesh, representing the Mohammadabad constituency. He’s the son of former MLA Sibghatullah Ansari and the nephew of Mukhtar and Afzal Ansari.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)

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