The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday, 7 April, has contradicted the claim of Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal, noting that jail authorities have found no immediate health issues upon examination.
Afzal Ansari alleged on Wednesday that his brother was treated inhumanely and he would rather be shot dead at a road crossing.
Several Uttar Pradesh police personnel brought back jailed the gangster-turned-politician to UP late in the night. The politician, who is set to face trial for several heinous crimes in state, was picked up from Rupnagar jail in Punjab on Tuesday, 6 April.
What Did UP Government Say?
In a statement, as reported by PTI, the Yogi led government said, “Undertrial Ansari was brought from Punjab’s Ropar jail around 4.50 am to Banda prison gate by a special team and he finally got entry at 5 am. All his belongings were checked and no objectionable items were found. A team of Banda Medical College doctors did his check-up and found no immediate health issues.”
Ansari, a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, would later be tested for COVID inside the jail. The UP government added that they were adhering to Supreme Court orders and had provided for health arrangements for Ansari with the help of district administration and Chief Medical officer of Banda.
ADG, Prisons, Anand Kumar has been instructed to look after the round-the-clock security of Ansari as well, and he will be kept in barrack number 16 under 24-hour camera surveillance by senior jail authorities, added the statement.
The UP Government has deputed two new jailers, an additional head jail warden and a jail warden, as well as deployed an additional force of PAC, as per their statement. A Banda city magistrate has been appointed as in-charge jail superintendent for administrative and security arrangements.
What Did Ansari’s Brother Allege?
Speaking to PTI, Ansari’s brother said, “Inhumane treatment was meted out to Mukhtar while being shifted from Punjab to Banda jail. In over 15 hours of the journey, he was not given water or food on the way and was also denied medical aid. Due to this, he became unwell and reached Banda jail in a semi-conscious state.”
Afzal is the BSP MP from Ghazipur. He noted that his brother has been kept in an isolation barrack. He told PTI, “Those who have to protect laws are creating terror. It would have be better that he (Mukhtar) was made to stand at some road crossing and shot dead.”
Afzal alleged that his diabetic brother had not been given access to a doctor, despite his rising blood-sugar and blood pressure levels. He reiterated that his brother is an undertrial, and that “such a treatment was never given to any undertrial in the history of the country”, added the report.
Background
Ansari had been incarcerated in the Rupnagar jail since January 2019 over a case of extortion.
A 150-member UP Police team from Banda, including a company of the Provincial Armed Constabulary, equipped with sophisticated weapons left for Punjab on Monday morning to bring back the BSP MLA from Mau, PTI had reported.
Punjab’s home department had written to UP home department’s additional chief secretary to take the politician’s custody from the jail on or before 8 April.
UP had filed a writ petition seeking the MLA’s transfer, following which the Supreme Court, in an order dated 26 March, allowed the plea and directed Punjab to transfer Ansari to UP’s Banda jail within two weeks.
Ansari has been booked for extortion and criminal intimidation, based on the complaint of a CEO of Homeland Group that operates in Punjab and Delhi. The Punjab Police picked up Ansari and brought him to Ropar jail on a production warrant from UP, and he has been lodged there since, reported The Indian Express.
There are over 52 cases of heinous crimes lodged against Ansari in various police stations including Lucknow, Ghazipur, and Mau in UP, added the report.
A Delhi Court had previously acquitted Mukhtar, his MP brother Afzal, and five others in the murder case of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.
On 29 November 2005, BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and six others were shot down with AK-47 rifles in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. Following the incident, Rai’s body was found riddled with over 21 bullets.
(Inputs from PTI)
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