Tag: Mukthar Ansari

  • Another killing in UP’s jungle raj: Mukhtar Ansari’s gang member shot dead in Lucknow court

    ENS & Agencies

    LUCKNOW: Jailed gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s aide Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Sanjeev Jeeva was shot dead in police custody by unknown assailants on the premises of a court in Lucknow on Wednesday.

    Jeeva, who is serving a life imprisonment in Barabanki jail, was shot dead by unknown assailants dressed as lawyers. The incident took place when he brought to the court for a hearing on an attempt to murder case from 2015. 

    As per the eyewitnesses, four assailants fired around five to 6 rounds at Jeeva during which an 18-month-old baby girl on her mother’s lap and a police constable sustained injury from stray bullets fired during the assassination bid.

    “During the shootout, an 18-month infant, Laxmi, accompanying her parents and a police constable suffered bullet injuries. Their condition was stated to be stable,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Aparna Rajat Kaushik.

     Police nab an assailant who shot at Sanjeev Jeeva. (Photo | PTI)Lawyers at the crime scene caught hold of one of the assailants and handed him over to the police. He was identified as Vijay Yadav of Jaunpur. However, the other three shooters had fled the spot.

    The shooting incident also sparked resentment among the lawyers who staged a protest against the state police, accusing it of failing to ensure law and order and beefing up stricter security arrangements.

    A lawyer alleged that the policemen escorting Jeeva had fled the scene when shots were fired at him and that they took it upon themselves to overpower one of the assailants.

    An eyewitness said, “as Jeeva was heading towards the court, a man in a lawyer’s robe, standing outside the courtroom’s entrance, opened fire at him. Jeeva, who was hit by the bullet, ran towards the courtroom but slumped to the ground.”

    The incident comes hardly two months after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three assailants while being taken in police custody to a hospital for medical examination in Prayagraj on April 15.

    The state government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Jeeva’s killing and security lapses on the part of cops accompanying the gangster. 

    The SIT, which has been asked to complete the probe within a week, will be headed by ADG (Technical) Mohit Agarwal, government officials said, adding that other members of the team are IPS officer Neelabja Chowdhary and IG (Ayodhya range) Praveen Kumar.

    A life convict with 24 cases to his name

    Jeeva, originally from Muzaffarnagar, had links with several gangs and committed various crimes over a span of three decades. Although he started his journey as a compounder at a dispensary, he made his entry into the dark alleys of crime by abducting the owner of the dispensary. Subsequently, he joined the Nazim gang of Haridwar, and later, the Satendra Barnala gang.

    Sanjeev Jeeva. (File Photo | ANI)As per the police sources, Jeeva was one of the main accused of the murder of veteran BJP leader Brahma Dutt Dwivedi in Farrukhabad on February 10, 1997. A trial court on July 17, 2003, convicted him for commissioning the killing of Dwivedi and his gunner and also committing a murderous assault on his driver. The court had sentenced Jeeva to life imprisonment in the case.

    He also worked closely with gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s henchman Munna Bajrangi, and later, with Mukhtar Ansari himself as his main shooter. He was an accused in the 2005 murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in Ghazipur.

    According to UP Police, Jeeva, who was booked in Gangster Act 22 times, had  24 cases registered against him in different police stations across Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Farrukhabad, Ghazipur, and Haridwar. His gang had been involved in murders, loot, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and cheating. His property worth Rs 4 crore was also confiscated under provisions of the Gangster Act.

    Jeeva’s wife, Payal, had contested assembly elections in 2017 on the RLD ticket but lost. In 2021, Payal had written a letter to the then Chief Justice of India expressing fear for Jeeva’s life.

    ‘People are not safe anywhere in UP’

    Meanwhile, opposition parties have hit out at the government over Wednesday’s incident. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at a press conference here in the evening said that the law and order situation in the state has worsened.

    “It seems that the BJP government has given a free hand to criminals who kill whomever they want, wherever they want. Murders are happening in police custody, police station and court. People are not safe anywhere in Uttar Pradesh,” said the former chief minister.

    Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati tweeted in Hindi, “The sensational shooting that resulted in a murder inside the Lucknow court premises is a big challenge for the government in terms of law and order and crime control in UP. There is panic among the public due to such incidents. Government should take strict steps, this is the demand of BSP.”

    Killings outside courtrooms

    Jeeva’s killing is just one of many such incidents to take place outside a courtroom in the state. Here’s a list of prominent Court killings in Uttar Pradesh since 2015

    May 16, 2023: Two men accused of murder were shot at by two assailants when they were brought to a court in Jaunpur.

    Aug 17, 2022: A murder accused, serving a prison term in Faridabad jail in connection with another case, was shot dead by three men on motorbikes outside the gate of the Hapur district court.

    Dec 17, 2019: A man accused of a double murder was shot dead inside a courtroom in Bijnor when court proceedings were underway.

    June 13 2019: Chairperson of the UP Bar Council Darvesh Kumari Yadav (36) was shot dead by a colleague in her chamber on the court premises in Agra. 

    Feb 16, 2015: A boy entered a Muzaffarnagar courtroom and opened fire on an under-trial in front of a district judge. 

    (With additional inputs from PTI) 

    LUCKNOW: Jailed gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s aide Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Sanjeev Jeeva was shot dead in police custody by unknown assailants on the premises of a court in Lucknow on Wednesday.

    Jeeva, who is serving a life imprisonment in Barabanki jail, was shot dead by unknown assailants dressed as lawyers. The incident took place when he brought to the court for a hearing on an attempt to murder case from 2015. 

    As per the eyewitnesses, four assailants fired around five to 6 rounds at Jeeva during which an 18-month-old baby girl on her mother’s lap and a police constable sustained injury from stray bullets fired during the assassination bid.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “During the shootout, an 18-month infant, Laxmi, accompanying her parents and a police constable suffered bullet injuries. Their condition was stated to be stable,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Aparna Rajat Kaushik.

     Police nab an assailant who shot at Sanjeev Jeeva. (Photo | PTI)Lawyers at the crime scene caught hold of one of the assailants and handed him over to the police. He was identified as Vijay Yadav of Jaunpur. However, the other three shooters had fled the spot.

    The shooting incident also sparked resentment among the lawyers who staged a protest against the state police, accusing it of failing to ensure law and order and beefing up stricter security arrangements.

    A lawyer alleged that the policemen escorting Jeeva had fled the scene when shots were fired at him and that they took it upon themselves to overpower one of the assailants.

    An eyewitness said, “as Jeeva was heading towards the court, a man in a lawyer’s robe, standing outside the courtroom’s entrance, opened fire at him. Jeeva, who was hit by the bullet, ran towards the courtroom but slumped to the ground.”

    The incident comes hardly two months after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three assailants while being taken in police custody to a hospital for medical examination in Prayagraj on April 15.

    The state government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Jeeva’s killing and security lapses on the part of cops accompanying the gangster. 

    The SIT, which has been asked to complete the probe within a week, will be headed by ADG (Technical) Mohit Agarwal, government officials said, adding that other members of the team are IPS officer Neelabja Chowdhary and IG (Ayodhya range) Praveen Kumar.

    A life convict with 24 cases to his name

    Jeeva, originally from Muzaffarnagar, had links with several gangs and committed various crimes over a span of three decades. Although he started his journey as a compounder at a dispensary, he made his entry into the dark alleys of crime by abducting the owner of the dispensary. Subsequently, he joined the Nazim gang of Haridwar, and later, the Satendra Barnala gang.

    Sanjeev Jeeva. (File Photo | ANI)As per the police sources, Jeeva was one of the main accused of the murder of veteran BJP leader Brahma Dutt Dwivedi in Farrukhabad on February 10, 1997. A trial court on July 17, 2003, convicted him for commissioning the killing of Dwivedi and his gunner and also committing a murderous assault on his driver. The court had sentenced Jeeva to life imprisonment in the case.

    He also worked closely with gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s henchman Munna Bajrangi, and later, with Mukhtar Ansari himself as his main shooter. He was an accused in the 2005 murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in Ghazipur.

    According to UP Police, Jeeva, who was booked in Gangster Act 22 times, had  24 cases registered against him in different police stations across Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Farrukhabad, Ghazipur, and Haridwar. His gang had been involved in murders, loot, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and cheating. His property worth Rs 4 crore was also confiscated under provisions of the Gangster Act.

    Jeeva’s wife, Payal, had contested assembly elections in 2017 on the RLD ticket but lost. In 2021, Payal had written a letter to the then Chief Justice of India expressing fear for Jeeva’s life.

    ‘People are not safe anywhere in UP’

    Meanwhile, opposition parties have hit out at the government over Wednesday’s incident. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at a press conference here in the evening said that the law and order situation in the state has worsened.

    “It seems that the BJP government has given a free hand to criminals who kill whomever they want, wherever they want. Murders are happening in police custody, police station and court. People are not safe anywhere in Uttar Pradesh,” said the former chief minister.

    Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati tweeted in Hindi, “The sensational shooting that resulted in a murder inside the Lucknow court premises is a big challenge for the government in terms of law and order and crime control in UP. There is panic among the public due to such incidents. Government should take strict steps, this is the demand of BSP.”

    Killings outside courtrooms

    Jeeva’s killing is just one of many such incidents to take place outside a courtroom in the state. Here’s a list of prominent Court killings in Uttar Pradesh since 2015

    May 16, 2023: Two men accused of murder were shot at by two assailants when they were brought to a court in Jaunpur.

    Aug 17, 2022: A murder accused, serving a prison term in Faridabad jail in connection with another case, was shot dead by three men on motorbikes outside the gate of the Hapur district court.

    Dec 17, 2019: A man accused of a double murder was shot dead inside a courtroom in Bijnor when court proceedings were underway.

    June 13 2019: Chairperson of the UP Bar Council Darvesh Kumari Yadav (36) was shot dead by a colleague in her chamber on the court premises in Agra. 

    Feb 16, 2015: A boy entered a Muzaffarnagar courtroom and opened fire on an under-trial in front of a district judge. 

    (With additional inputs from PTI) 

  • Jailed gangster-neta Mukhtar Ansari acquitted in 2009 attempt to murder case

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: A Ghazipur MP/MLA court, on Wednesday, acquitted incarcerated gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in a case of attempt to murder registered against him in 2009.

    The former MLA from the Mau Sadar constituency was acquitted by the court over a lack of sufficient evidence.

    Mukhtar was booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC in the case. He appeared before the Ghazipur MP/MLA court through video-conferencing from Banda jail.

    According to Mukhtar Ansari’s lawyer Liaquat Ali, in 2009, Meer Hasan, a resident of Mohammadabad lodged a case alleging that one Sonu Yadav attacked him with an intent to murder.

    The case was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) at the Mohammadabad police station. Later, police named Mukhtar as a co-accused in the case despite the fact that he was lodged in jail at the time of the incident.

    It was suspected that Mukhtar had hatched the conspiracy of eliminating the complainant.

    However, the main accused booked under Section 307 of IPC had already been acquitted owing to insufficient evidence against him in the case.

    ALSO READ | Mukhtar Ansari: The gangster grandson of a Congress President and a war hero

    On Wednesday, additional sessions judge (MP-MLA) Durgesh Kumar pronounced the verdict in the case exonerating the gangster-turned-politician.

    According to Additional District Government counsel (criminal) Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, during the trial, complainant Mir Hassan himself and prime witness Ramkrit Yadav had turned hostile to the vantage of Mukhtar Ansari.

    Srivastav, however, said the acquittal will not lead to the release of Ansari as he is accused in several other cases and was also convicted in a case recently.

    As per the details of the case, in 2009 a contractor was allegedly attacked by the members of Mukhtar’s gang. The contractor survived the attack but his two labourers suffered bullet injuries and one of them died during the course of treatment.

    Following the incident, Mir Hassan, the contractor,  lodged an FIR with the Mohammadabad police station in Ghazipur district.

    Mukhtar has been in jail since 2005. He has been awarded imprisonment in four cases, including two of those under the Gangster Act, by different courts in the last eight months.

    LUCKNOW: A Ghazipur MP/MLA court, on Wednesday, acquitted incarcerated gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in a case of attempt to murder registered against him in 2009.

    The former MLA from the Mau Sadar constituency was acquitted by the court over a lack of sufficient evidence.

    Mukhtar was booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC in the case. He appeared before the Ghazipur MP/MLA court through video-conferencing from Banda jail.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    According to Mukhtar Ansari’s lawyer Liaquat Ali, in 2009, Meer Hasan, a resident of Mohammadabad lodged a case alleging that one Sonu Yadav attacked him with an intent to murder.

    The case was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) at the Mohammadabad police station. Later, police named Mukhtar as a co-accused in the case despite the fact that he was lodged in jail at the time of the incident.

    It was suspected that Mukhtar had hatched the conspiracy of eliminating the complainant.

    However, the main accused booked under Section 307 of IPC had already been acquitted owing to insufficient evidence against him in the case.

    ALSO READ | Mukhtar Ansari: The gangster grandson of a Congress President and a war hero

    On Wednesday, additional sessions judge (MP-MLA) Durgesh Kumar pronounced the verdict in the case exonerating the gangster-turned-politician.

    According to Additional District Government counsel (criminal) Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, during the trial, complainant Mir Hassan himself and prime witness Ramkrit Yadav had turned hostile to the vantage of Mukhtar Ansari.

    Srivastav, however, said the acquittal will not lead to the release of Ansari as he is accused in several other cases and was also convicted in a case recently.

    As per the details of the case, in 2009 a contractor was allegedly attacked by the members of Mukhtar’s gang. The contractor survived the attack but his two labourers suffered bullet injuries and one of them died during the course of treatment.

    Following the incident, Mir Hassan, the contractor,  lodged an FIR with the Mohammadabad police station in Ghazipur district.

    Mukhtar has been in jail since 2005. He has been awarded imprisonment in four cases, including two of those under the Gangster Act, by different courts in the last eight months.

  • Wife of jailed UP MLA Abbas Ansari held for allegedly planning husband’s escape

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Nikhat Ansari, the daughter-in-law of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and wife of his MLA son Abbas, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly planning her husband’s escape from jail.

    The UP Police also recovered two mobile phones, Rs 21,000 in cash, some gold ornaments and Saudi Arabian currency from Nikhat when she had gone to the Chitrakoot jail to meet Abbas Ansari on Friday.

    Meanwhile, the DIG jail has suspended eight police personnel over the incident including Jail Superintendent Ashok Kumar Sagar and deputy jailor Sushil Kumar, jail warden Jagmohan and unidentified jail employees who were on duty in Chitrakoot jail. 

    Abbas Ansari, a lawmaker from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has been in jail since November 2022 in connection with a money laundering case.

    As per the police sources, Abbas’s wife Nikhat Ansari had reached Chitrakoot jail without making an entry into the visitor’s register on Friday. A team of the district administration and police conducted a surprise inspection at the jail on Friday and caught Nikhat inside a room next to the jail superintendent’s office. Police said she had entered the jail without completing the formalities. Abbas was also found using his wife’s mobile phones inside the jail, while Nikhat has been accused of attempting to destroy data from her cellphone before police seized it.

    On the basis of the complaint of Sub-Inspector in-charge of Ragauli Jail Police Station Shyamdev Singh, an FIR has been registered against five people, including Jail Superintendent, the deputy jailor, a constable, Nikhat and their driver.

    They have been booked under various IPC sections, including 222 (intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed), 186 (Whoever voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions…), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 which deals with tampering with evidence, and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

    “We have arrested Nikhat Bano and her driver in the case. The role of other accused are being probed,” said Bhanu Bhaskar, additional director-general (Prayagraj zone).

    According to the police, Nikhat had visited the jail every day at around 11 am and stayed for around three to four hours. Abbas was also said to be using his wife’s cellphone to threaten witnesses and prosecuting officers as well as to extort money from people. She also allegedly used to bribe jail staff. Nikhat, with unidentified jail staff, was preparing an escape plan for Abbas, according to the FIR.

    Chitrakoot DM Abhishek Anand and SP Vrinda Shukla had visited the prison in plain clothes as part of a surprise inspection during which they could not find Abbas Ansari in his barrack.

    When questioned by the senior officials, a jail official revealed had that the MLA and his wife were in the room next to the superintendent’s office. When the team rushed to the room and found Nikhat there, but Abbas had by then been taken back to his barrack by a warden.

    LUCKNOW: Nikhat Ansari, the daughter-in-law of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and wife of his MLA son Abbas, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly planning her husband’s escape from jail.

    The UP Police also recovered two mobile phones, Rs 21,000 in cash, some gold ornaments and Saudi Arabian currency from Nikhat when she had gone to the Chitrakoot jail to meet Abbas Ansari on Friday.

    Meanwhile, the DIG jail has suspended eight police personnel over the incident including Jail Superintendent Ashok Kumar Sagar and deputy jailor Sushil Kumar, jail warden Jagmohan and unidentified jail employees who were on duty in Chitrakoot jail. 

    Abbas Ansari, a lawmaker from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has been in jail since November 2022 in connection with a money laundering case.

    As per the police sources, Abbas’s wife Nikhat Ansari had reached Chitrakoot jail without making an entry into the visitor’s register on Friday. A team of the district administration and police conducted a surprise inspection at the jail on Friday and caught Nikhat inside a room next to the jail superintendent’s office. Police said she had entered the jail without completing the formalities. Abbas was also found using his wife’s mobile phones inside the jail, while Nikhat has been accused of attempting to destroy data from her cellphone before police seized it.

    On the basis of the complaint of Sub-Inspector in-charge of Ragauli Jail Police Station Shyamdev Singh, an FIR has been registered against five people, including Jail Superintendent, the deputy jailor, a constable, Nikhat and their driver.

    They have been booked under various IPC sections, including 222 (intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed), 186 (Whoever voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions…), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 which deals with tampering with evidence, and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

    “We have arrested Nikhat Bano and her driver in the case. The role of other accused are being probed,” said Bhanu Bhaskar, additional director-general (Prayagraj zone).

    According to the police, Nikhat had visited the jail every day at around 11 am and stayed for around three to four hours. Abbas was also said to be using his wife’s cellphone to threaten witnesses and prosecuting officers as well as to extort money from people. She also allegedly used to bribe jail staff. Nikhat, with unidentified jail staff, was preparing an escape plan for Abbas, according to the FIR.

    Chitrakoot DM Abhishek Anand and SP Vrinda Shukla had visited the prison in plain clothes as part of a surprise inspection during which they could not find Abbas Ansari in his barrack.

    When questioned by the senior officials, a jail official revealed had that the MLA and his wife were in the room next to the superintendent’s office. When the team rushed to the room and found Nikhat there, but Abbas had by then been taken back to his barrack by a warden.