Jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari convicted in 32-year-old murder case of Congress leader

New Delhi: Notorious gangster Mukhtar Ansari, who is currently doing time in jail, is convicted in a 32-year-old murder case in Uttar Pradesh.

On August 3, 1991, Awadhesh Rai, congress leader and brother of former MLA Ajay Rai, was shot dead outside his brother’s house in Varanasi.

Mukhtar Ansari, who was not yet an MLA at the time, was named alongside Bhim Singh, former MLA Abdul Kalim, and two others in the FIR, according to NDTV.

After concluding the hearing on May 19, the Varanasi MP MLA court posted the case on June 5 to deliver the verdict.

Th five-term MLA is already serving a 10-year jail having previously convicted in a kidnapping and murder case.

The case had a very curious turn in June 2022 when the case diary went missing.

However, the court continued the hearing using photocopies, the case gained the distinction of being the first case to have verdict on the basis of duplicate papers, according to NDTV.

Mukhtar Ansari emerged in gang activities in connection with the 1988 murder of local contractor Sachchidanand Rai.

Subsequently, his name figured in several crimes including murder and other cases with a long list of victims. He faced about 60 cases related to land grabbing, murder and extortion.

Despite his involvement in crimes, Mukhtar Ansari won assembly elections of1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, along with the last three victories while he was in jail.

His son Abbas Ansari won assembly polls in 2022 representing Anasari’s strong hold of Mau Sadar as a candidate of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

Mukhta Ansari made a foray into politics becoming an MLA as a BSP candidate in 1996.

However, BSP showed him the door as the leadership reportedly found it hard to manage the gangster.