Mukhtar Ansari: The Grandson Of India's Freedom Fighter Who Took To Crime

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Jailed politician Mukhtar Ansari, whose death stirred controversy this week, entered the world of crime when he was just 15 years old hailed from an influential family. His paternal grandfather, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, was a freedom fighter and a renowned physician. He was one of the founders of Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia and also held the post of Chancellor at the university READ: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies: A look at the life and times of the 'Bahubali' of eastern UP“He (Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari) had a long association with the Congress, as its president (1927), its secretary for several years, and as a member of the Congress Working Committee throughout his life,” his profile on Jamia's website reads READ: Judicial inquiry ordered in Mukhtar Ansari's death amid 'slow poison' claimsMukhtar Ansari's maternal grandfather Mohammad Usman was a brigadier in the Indian Army. He was known as the 'Lion of Nowshera' and was a Mahavir Chakra awardee. He died in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir during a conflict with Pakistan in 1948, earning the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously, the Hindustan Times reported Ansari's world of crimeFive-time Uttar Pradesh MLA Ansari got into crime to establish himself and his gang in the government contract mafia that was then flourishing in the state, according to newswire PTI READ: First-hand account: A visit to 'Phatak', Mukhtar Ansari's family home in Uttar Pradesh's GhazipurIt was in 1978 when he was first booked for criminal intimidation at Saidpur Police Station of Ghazipur. Almost a decade later in 1986, a case of murder was lodged against him at Muhammad Police Station of Ghazipur. By then, he had become a well-known face in the contract mafia circle the next decade, Ansari became a common face of crime with at least 14 more cases under serious charges lodged against him. His growing criminal graph, however, did not hinder his entry into politics 2005, till his death, Ansari was lodged in different jails in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. According to PTI, Ansari had 28 criminal cases, including that of murder and seven cases under the UP's Gangster Act, registered against him since 2005 READ: Absolutely baseless: Former UP DGP dismisses claims of Mukhtar Ansari being poisoned, High alert in UP. 10 top updatesAnsari was convicted in eight criminal cases since September 2022 and was facing trial in 21 cases in different courts was sentenced to life and awarded a penalty of ₹2.02 lakh earlier this month in a case of fraudulently obtaining an arms license around 37 years ago. This was the eighth case in which he was sentenced in the past 18 months by different courts of Uttar Pradesh and the second in which he was awarded a life term READ: Mukhtar Ansari death: Owaisi, Tejashwi echo 'slow poison' claims; gangster wrote letter before demise 'after eating...'Convictions and life sentences> December 15, 2023: Ansari was sentenced to five years and six months for giving a death threat to Mahavir Prasad Rungta for turning hostile and not pursuing a case involving the kidnapping and murder of BJP leader and coal trader Nand Kishore Rungta on January 22, 1997.> October 27, 2023: He was awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of 5 lakh in a Gangster Act case lodged against him in 2010.> June 5, 2023: He was awarded life imprisonment in the case of the murder of Awadesh Rai, the elder brother of former Congress MLA and present UP Congress president Ajay Rai.> April 29, 2023: Ansari was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in a case of murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.> September 23, 2022: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court awarded Ansari five years of rigorous imprisonment in a Gangster Act case registered against him in 1999 at Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow and imposed a fine on him ₹50,000.> December 15, 2022: He was awarded 10 years of imprisonment and a penalty of 5 lakh each in two separate cases of the Gangster Act lodged against him in 1996 and 2007.> September 21, 2022: He was awarded seven years of imprisonment for threatening the jailor of the Lucknow district jail in 2003.

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