High security in several parts of UP after Mukhtar Ansari's death

Security personnel in several districts of Uttar Pradesh remained on alert on Friday, a day after jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed across the state and teams of the Central Reserve Police Force along with the local police have been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh director general of police Prashant Kumar said earlier.

People had also started gathering at Mukhtar Ansari's residence in Ghazipur and there was a large deployment of security personnel around the house.

Principal of the Banda Medical College Hospital Suneel Kaushal said the postmortem of Mukhtar Ansari is underway at the hospital and the entire process is being videographed.

A panel of doctors is performing the postmortem and the viscera will be preserved, Kaushal said, adding the Chief Medical Officer is present at the spot.

Senior officials, including district magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal, superintendent of police Ankur Agarwal and a large number of security personnel are present at the hospital.

Paramilitary forces and central forces have been deployed as a precautionary measure outside the medical college, officials said.

The 63-year-old Ansari was brought to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda from the district jail in "an unconscious state" on Thursday evening and died at the hospital following a cardiac arrest, Kaushal had said.

Family members of Mukhtar Ansari, including his son Umar Ansari, and counsel Naseem Haider will take the body to his home town Ghazipur for last rites after the postmortem.

His counsel Haider said the body will be taken to Ghazipur via Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Prayagraj and Varanasi and the last rites will be performed at the Kali Bagh family burial ground there.

Speaking to reporters, Umar Ansari alleged that his father was subjected to slow poisoning in jail. However, authorities have denied the charge.

"We got the news of his demise only through the media. We will demand a high-level inquiry and do whatever we have to do through court. We have full confidence in the court," he said.

Asked whose role he sees in the incident, he said it is a matter of investigation. "We will get justice from the court," he added.

Authorities have chalked out a route plan for the safe transit of the body via road from Banda to Ghazipur, a distance of around 380 Km.

Security has also been stepped up in parts of the state in view of Friday prayers.

Mukhtar Ansari was brought to the medical college around 8.25 pm on Thursday in an unconscious state after he had complained of vomiting. A team of nine doctors attended to him but he died of cardiac arrest, the medical bulletin stated.

Afzal Ansari, who is also the Ghazipur MP, on Tuesday alleged that his brother was given slow poison in jail.

"Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in food in jail. This happened for the second time. Around 40 days ago also he was given poison. And recently, he was again given this (poison) due to which his condition is bad," Afzal Ansari said.

Afzal Ansari said that during the virtual hearing of a case in a Barabanki court on March 21, Ansari's lawyer had filed an application in the court alleging that his client had been given "slow poison" in jail due to which his condition was deteriorating.

Earlier, Ansari was hospitalised for around 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain.

While condoling the demise of Mukhtar Ansari, many parties in Uttar Pradesh demanded a probe into his death.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said it is the responsibility and duty of the government to protect someone's life in every situation and place and demanded a probe under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge into the death of the former MLA.

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati also demanded a high-level inquiry into the death of the gangster-turned-politician.

In a post on X, she said, "The persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Anasari's family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the true facts of his death can be revealed."

Bhim Army founder and Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) president Chandra Shekhar Aazad demanded a CBI investigation into the death of Ansari.

"Earlier he had expressed apprehension that he will be murdered. I demand from the High Court of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh for a CBI investigation into his death," the Dalit leader added.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former deputy Bihar chief minister Tejashwi Yadav also expressed grief at Ansari's death.

"A few days ago he had complained that he had been poisoned in jail, yet it was not taken seriously. Prima facie this does not seem justifiable and humane. Constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases and incidents," Tejashwi Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X.

Former Bihar MP Pappu Yadav, who joined the Congress recently, termed Ansari's death an "institutional murder" and demanded a court-monitored probe into it.

The Chief Justice of India should take "suo motu cognizance of this. There should be a court-monitored impartial investigation," the Congress leader said.

Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat, was behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005.

He had over 60 criminal cases pending against him.