Mukhtar Ansari news LIVE: Mortal remains being brought to Ghazipur

Preparations for the funeral of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari are underway at the Kali Bagh Graveyard in Ghazipur. His body will be handed over to his son, Umar Ansari, after a post-mortem.

Following Mukhtar Ansari's death, security has been beefed up across Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh government has imposeMukhtar Ansari was hospitalised for around 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain. The gangster-turned-politician's family has alleged that the 63-year-old was being “slow-poisoned” by a substance mixed in food given to him in the Banda jail.

Who was Mukhtar Ansari?

• Mukhtar Ansari, 63, was a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar – from 1996 to 2022 – twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, twice as an Independent and once as a Quami Ekta Dal nominee.


• The gangster-turned-politician had been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He had more than 60 criminal cases pending against him.


• Mukhtar Ansari was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts in Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail. His name was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.


• In 2022, Mukhtar Ansari passed on the baton to his elder son Abbas Ansari, who won from the same assembly seat as a candidate of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party in 2022, which was then in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party.Here's what Ghazipur SP Omvir Singh said on law and order after Mukhtar Ansari's death.
  

  "Since this news flashed last night, the entire district administration is on alert. We are in touch with the family and they have said that the last rites will be done after morning prayers... Crowd is expected as people will come to pay tribute and the arrangements are made for the same. But, I appeal to the people that the Model Code of Conduct is in effect for general elections and if it is violated by any means or statements made by anyone, action will be taken as per law..." he said to ANIUnion Minister Anurag Thakur took a dig at SP, BSP and Congress over their reactions on Mukhtar Ansari's death saying, "..Those who protected such people to have political benefits can say whatever they want. Medical inquiry has been done, if they demand a judicial inquiry it will be done as well. Everyone has the right to know the truth but they should tell under which crime he was in jail for years? Who induced the fear, who exploited the public and who were they that protected him? SP, BSP and Congress should tell instead of doing politics on incidents like this.