• Gangster-turned-politician, Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest; Section 144 imposed across UP

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    Gangster-turned-politician, Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest; Section 144 imposed across UP
    Ansari was rushed to Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda district by jail authorities after complaining of vomiting...

    Digital Desk: Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster who went into politics, died of cardiac arrest after being hospitalized on Thursday night. The 63-year-old, an erstwhile MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Mau district, had been imprisoned in jails in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh since 2005.

    According to a medical bulletin, Ansari was rushed to Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda district by jail authorities after complaining of vomiting. He passed away from cardiac arrest despite efforts from a team of nine doctors to save his life.

    Following his death, a sizable police presence was seen outside the hospital, and Uttar Pradesh saw the implementation of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Teams and more police officers from the Central Reserve Police Force were stationed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi, among other areas. 

    Ansari's health had raised concerns following previous hospitalizations. According to his brother, Afzal Ansari, the MP for Ghazipur, Ansari was poisoned twice while he was incarcerated, most recently on March 19 or 22. Ansari was sent to the hospital on Tuesday after falling in the bathroom, according to the jail department, which blamed other circumstances for his declining condition. 

    Ansari has a notorious criminal past, having been charged with 15 murders among 61 other crimes. His role in kidnapping and extortion covered several Uttar Pradesh districts. In 2004, he faced charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and was incarcerated for multiple offenses, such as the 1990 fraudulent weapons license case and the murder of BJP MLA Krisnanand Rai. 

     In a social media post, the Samajwadi Party offered its condolences on Ansari's passing. Five times Ansari had been elected as an MLA from Mau, twice on a ticket from the Bahujan Samaj Party.