News Analysis India

Tag: Mukhtar Ansari

  • ED arrests Mukhtar Ansari’s MLA son Abbas in money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Abbas Ansari, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party MLA from Mau and son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in a money laundering case, officials said on Saturday.

    Abbas Ansari, 30, was arrested after a long questioning session at the federal agency’s office in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, they said.

    He has been arrested in the money laundering case being investigated against his father and family, they said. Last month, the ED had attached seven immovable assets of Mukhtar Ansari worth Rs 1.48 crore (registry value).

    Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year.

    The agency had also raided the official residence of his elder brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari in Delhi and some locations in Ghazipur, Mohammadabad (in Ghazipur district), Mau and Lucknow in August.

    The money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari stems from multiple FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police apart from two lodged against a company called Vikas Constructions (a partnership firm) that was run by his wife, two brothers-in-law and others.

    Mukhtar Ansari is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion.

    He is facing trial in several cases, including an attempt to murder and murder, in Uttar Pradesh.

    In August, the Ghazipur district administration had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that was purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari, according to police.

    In July, the Uttar Pradesh Police had attached Afzal Ansari’s assets worth Rs 14.90 crore under the Gangster Act.

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Abbas Ansari, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party MLA from Mau and son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in a money laundering case, officials said on Saturday.

    Abbas Ansari, 30, was arrested after a long questioning session at the federal agency’s office in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, they said.

    He has been arrested in the money laundering case being investigated against his father and family, they said. Last month, the ED had attached seven immovable assets of Mukhtar Ansari worth Rs 1.48 crore (registry value).

    Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year.

    The agency had also raided the official residence of his elder brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari in Delhi and some locations in Ghazipur, Mohammadabad (in Ghazipur district), Mau and Lucknow in August.

    The money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari stems from multiple FIRs registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police apart from two lodged against a company called Vikas Constructions (a partnership firm) that was run by his wife, two brothers-in-law and others.

    Mukhtar Ansari is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion.

    He is facing trial in several cases, including an attempt to murder and murder, in Uttar Pradesh.

    In August, the Ghazipur district administration had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that was purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari, according to police.

    In July, the Uttar Pradesh Police had attached Afzal Ansari’s assets worth Rs 14.90 crore under the Gangster Act.

  • ED attaches 7 properties of UP gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in PMLA case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached seven immovable assets of Uttar Pradesh gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as part of a money laundering investigation against him and his family.

    The properties, provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are worth Rs 1.48 crore (registry value) while their circle rate at the time of registration was Rs 3.42 crore, the federal agency said in a statement.

    Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in a prison in Banda, Uttar Pradesh. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year.

    The agency had in August also raided the official residence of his elder brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari in Delhi and some locations in Ghazipur, Mohammadabad (in Ghazipur district), Mau and state capital Lucknow.

    The money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari stems from multiple FIRs lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police apart from two more FIRs lodged against a company called Vikas Constructions (a partnership firm) that was run by his wife, two brothers-in-law and other people.

    The ED has alleged that the company was used for constructing godowns on public and government land after “encroaching” on them.

    “The godowns were constructed in Mau and Ghazipur districts of Uttar Pradesh. Vikas Construction was being run by Afshan Ansari (wife of Mukhtar Ansari) and her two brothers Atif Raza and Anwar Shahzad, a person identified as Ravindra Narayan Singh, and Zakir Hussain,” the ED said.

    “Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a charge sheet in one of the FIRs registered at Mau in which all the partners of the firm (Vikas Construction) have been named as accused,” it said.

    The probe found, as per the agency, that rent of Rs 15 crore was collected by Vikas Construction from the Food Corporation of India by renting out godowns “illegally” constructed by encroaching public/government land at Mau and Ghazipur districts.

    “This rent was further used to purchase immovable properties in the name of Vikas Construction and Afshan Ansari. Further investigation to trace the remaining process of crime is under progress,” the ED said.

    Mukhtar Ansari is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him, including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion. He faces trials in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.

    The Ghazipur district administration had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari, according to the police.

    In July, the Uttar Pradesh Police attached Afzal Ansari’s assets worth Rs 14.90 crore under the Gangster Act.

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached seven immovable assets of Uttar Pradesh gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari as part of a money laundering investigation against him and his family.

    The properties, provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are worth Rs 1.48 crore (registry value) while their circle rate at the time of registration was Rs 3.42 crore, the federal agency said in a statement.

    Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in a prison in Banda, Uttar Pradesh. The 59-year-old was questioned by the ED in this case last year.

    The agency had in August also raided the official residence of his elder brother and BSP MP Afzal Ansari in Delhi and some locations in Ghazipur, Mohammadabad (in Ghazipur district), Mau and state capital Lucknow.

    The money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari stems from multiple FIRs lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police apart from two more FIRs lodged against a company called Vikas Constructions (a partnership firm) that was run by his wife, two brothers-in-law and other people.

    The ED has alleged that the company was used for constructing godowns on public and government land after “encroaching” on them.

    “The godowns were constructed in Mau and Ghazipur districts of Uttar Pradesh. Vikas Construction was being run by Afshan Ansari (wife of Mukhtar Ansari) and her two brothers Atif Raza and Anwar Shahzad, a person identified as Ravindra Narayan Singh, and Zakir Hussain,” the ED said.

    “Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a charge sheet in one of the FIRs registered at Mau in which all the partners of the firm (Vikas Construction) have been named as accused,” it said.

    The probe found, as per the agency, that rent of Rs 15 crore was collected by Vikas Construction from the Food Corporation of India by renting out godowns “illegally” constructed by encroaching public/government land at Mau and Ghazipur districts.

    “This rent was further used to purchase immovable properties in the name of Vikas Construction and Afshan Ansari. Further investigation to trace the remaining process of crime is under progress,” the ED said.

    Mukhtar Ansari is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him, including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion. He faces trials in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.

    The Ghazipur district administration had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari, according to the police.

    In July, the Uttar Pradesh Police attached Afzal Ansari’s assets worth Rs 14.90 crore under the Gangster Act.

  • Allahabad High Court reserves order on bail plea of Mukhtar Ansari’s MLA son Abbas

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea of mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari’s MLA son Abbas Ansari in connection with an arms licence case.

    The bail plea is being heard in the court of Justice D K Singh.

    Moving the plea, Abbas had said he was innocent and victimised due to political vendetta.

    Opposing the plea, the state counsel argued that the arms and cartridges recovered from him were made of metal, and metallic items are not used in sports.

    The special MP-MLA Court on August 24 had declared him an absconder in the case.

    It was alleged in the FIR that Abbas obtained a gun license from Lucknow and later he got it transferred to Delhi where he purchased many arms at the changed address.

    Police had filed a charge sheet against him on December 24, 2020.

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea of mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari’s MLA son Abbas Ansari in connection with an arms licence case.

    The bail plea is being heard in the court of Justice D K Singh.

    Moving the plea, Abbas had said he was innocent and victimised due to political vendetta.

    Opposing the plea, the state counsel argued that the arms and cartridges recovered from him were made of metal, and metallic items are not used in sports.

    The special MP-MLA Court on August 24 had declared him an absconder in the case.

    It was alleged in the FIR that Abbas obtained a gun license from Lucknow and later he got it transferred to Delhi where he purchased many arms at the changed address.

    Police had filed a charge sheet against him on December 24, 2020.

  • ED raids in UP, Delhi in money laundering case against Mukhtar Ansari

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as part of a money laundering investigation against mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, official sources said.

    The searches are being conducted at premises located in Ghazipur, Lucknow and Delhi which are linked to Ansari and his alleged associates, they said.

    The action is aimed to gather evidence with regard to an ongoing investigation against Ansari under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

    ED conducts raids at BSP MP Mukhtar Ansari’s properties in Lucknow and Ghazipur. 11 locations have been covered in this search. https://t.co/89NRvks5oX pic.twitter.com/9ce6aE8DQl
    — ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2022
    Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail at Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

    He is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion. He faces trial in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.

    The Ghazipur district administration last week had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Ansari, according to police.

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi as part of a money laundering investigation against mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, official sources said.

    The searches are being conducted at premises located in Ghazipur, Lucknow and Delhi which are linked to Ansari and his alleged associates, they said.

    The action is aimed to gather evidence with regard to an ongoing investigation against Ansari under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

    ED conducts raids at BSP MP Mukhtar Ansari’s properties in Lucknow and Ghazipur. 11 locations have been covered in this search. https://t.co/89NRvks5oX pic.twitter.com/9ce6aE8DQl
    — ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2022
    Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in jail at Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

    He is under the ED scanner in connection with at least 49 criminal cases booked against him including those on charges of land grabbing, murder and extortion. He faces trial in Uttar Pradesh in several cases, including attempt to murder and murder.

    The Ghazipur district administration last week had seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using alleged illegal earnings of Ansari, according to police.

  • Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari fails to get bail

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: A local court on Saturday rejected a bail plea of mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari in connection with a 2020 land grab case.

    Special Judge of Prohibition of Corruption Act Court Gaurav Kumar said that Mukhtar Ansari’s involvement was apparent from the investigation and the possibility that he would influence the witnesses during the trial cannot be ruled out.

    The FIR in this matter was lodged on August 27, 2020 by local area revenue officer Surjan Lal at the Hazratganj police station.

    It was alleged in the FIR that a piece of land in Jiamau locality was registered in the name of one Mohammad Waseem who went to Pakistan and his land was registered in the revenue records of the government as enemy property.

    However, the land was grabbed allegedly by Mukhtar Ansari and his sons and the government was cheated of crores of rupees.

    Earlier, the bail application on behalf of Ansari claimed that he was innocent and was implicated in the case due to political rivalry.

    Mukhtar Ansari is facing over 50 cases.

  • HC grants Abbas Ansari protection from arrest till April 27 over speech threatening officials

    By PTI

    ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday gave Abbas Ansari, the son of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, interim protection from arrest over his speech during an election meeting threatening to “settle the account” with government officials.

    A bench of Justices Sunita Agarwal and Vikas Kunvar Srivastav ordered that the petitioner, Abbas Ansari, shall not be arrested till April 27 and he will be under obligation to cooperate in the investigation.

    “In case of any act of the petitioner of non-cooperation in the ongoing investigation, it would be open for the respondents to approach this court for vacation of this interim order,” the bench said.

    The case was registered on March 4 against Ansari, who won the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls from Mau on the ticket of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which was in a tie-up with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party.

    Ansari moved the court challenging the FIR and also sought protection from arrest in the matter.

    His counsel submitted that the local police was trying to arrest him in the case by adding more grave charges.

    The petitioner is an elected MLA of Mau and he is being targeted to not allow him to take oath of office, the counsel said.

    The Election Commission had then barred Ansari from campaigning for 24 hours for his speech.

    In a purported video clip of his speech, Ansari is seen telling a crowd during an election event that he has talked to Yadav to make sure that no transfer or posting takes place in the six months after the party comes to power in the state.

    “Jo yahan hai wo yahan hi rahega, pehle hisaab-kitab hoga uske baad unke jaane ke certificate par mohar lagaya jaega (Those who are here, will remain here. First account will be settled with them and only after that their departure papers will be stamped,” Ansari is purportedly seen saying in the video.

    The SP-led alliance lost the election held over February and March to the BJP.

  • SP-SBSP alliance will support Mukhtar Ansari in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls: Om Prakash Rajbhar

    The SBSP, which had contested the 2017 assembly elections in alliance with the BJP, has four MLAs at present.

  • UP HC junks Mukhtar Ansari’s son plea to quash land-grabbing FIR against them

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking annulment of an FIR against jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and his two sons for allegedly illegally grabbing evacuees’ land in the posh Dalibagh area of Lucknow.

    The plea filed by Mukhtar’s sons Abbas Ansari and Umar Ansari was dismissed by the high court’s Lucknow bench of justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav.

    Assailing the criminal case lodged against them, Mukhtar’s sons had pleaded that the FIR did not disclose any cognisable offence and it was lodged to settle political scores.

    Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General V K Shahi submitted to the bench that the investigation has already been concluded against the accused persons in the case and after collecting adequate evidence, the investigating officer has even filed the charge sheet in the court.

    As such, the FIR cannot be quashed, he pointed out.

    “The probe is still going on against Mukhtar while his sons have been charge-sheeted and hence given this fact, the petition filed by Mukhtar’s sons is liable to be dismissed forthwith,” Shahi added.

    Area Lekhpal (revenue officer) had lodged the FIR against Mukhtar and his two sons at the Hazratganj police station on August 27, 2020.

    The land in Dalibagh area on which building was built by Ansari and his sons is “nishkrant sampatti”, belonging to people who have migrated to Pakistan, and the Lucknow Development Authority has already demolished the building, the AAG pointed out to the court.

  • BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari seeks high-level security, says maybe poisoned in jail

    By PTI

    BARABANKI: BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari on Thursday requested a court to grant him a high-level security, fearing that he may be poisoned in the jail as the government is “unhappy” with him.

    The BSP MLA is currently lodged in a Banda jail.

    Ansari, according to his lawyer Randhir Singh Suman, made the request during a hearing through video-conferencing.

    “The state government is unhappy with me. It can happen that I may be given poison in food,” Ansari said, adding that if he is given a high-level security, his fear will end.

    Mukhtar’s lawyer Suman has given an application, demanding security for him as per the jail manual.

    The court has fixed October 7 as the date for next hearing, Suman said, adding that Judge Kamal Kant Srivastava said he will give directions in this regard soon.

    Earlier during a hearing in August, Mukhtar had alleged that a Rs 5 crore contract was given to kill him inside the jail.

    Ansari was produced in the court in a case of forgery and cheating in the registration of a bulletproof ambulance used to ferry him between courts and jail in Punjab.

    After having been brought from a Ropar jail in Punjab recently, Ansari was lodged in the Banda jail in a slew of criminal cases.

  • UP polls: AIMIM offers party ticket to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The AIMIM on Friday offered to field gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, hours after the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) denied ticket to him.

    Earlier in the day, BSP supremo Mayawati said her party will make efforts to not field ‘bahubali’ (strongmen) or mafia candidates in the upcoming polls and announced that Ansari, who is lodged in a jail in Banda, will not be given a ticket from Mau again.

    The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) national spokesperson Syed Asim Waqar said the party’s doors are open for Ansari.

    “If Ansari wants to contest the election, the doors of AIMIM are open for him. We will give him a ticket and ensure his victory also,” he told PTI.

    Waqar asked other Muslims also not to “purchase tickets” from any other political party as they will ensure their defeat even after taking money from them.

    “Votes of their communities (other parties) do not transfer to Muslims. I ask Muslims who want to contest elections to come and join AIMIM. The party will give them tickets,” he said.

    Mayawati announced the name of BSP state president Bhim Rajbhar from the Mau seat, currently represented by Ansari.

    On September 7, jailed gangster and former MP Atiq Ahmad and his wife had joined AIMIM in presence of its chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

    While Ahmad’s wife Shaista Praveen joined the AIMIM at a press conference, he joined the new party in absentia.

    Defending his decision to induct Ahmad, who has several criminal cases lodged against him, AIMIM’s chief Asaduddin Owaisi had said that some BJP leaders were also facing criminal cases.