Last week, on Thursday, the Lucknow Court remanded Nikhat Bano, wife of Uttar Pradesh MLA Abbas Ansari and daughter-in-law of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari for illegally meeting her jailed husband in the deputy jailer’s room in Chitrakoot district.
The Police began the investigation in the case and interrogated Bano to reveal that she and her husband Ansari used to illegally meet for 3-4 hours in jail. The Police also said that she used to arrive at the jail premises with her driver Niyaz and used to meet her husband without making any entry in the jail logs.
The Police on February 10 conducted a surprise investigation on the jail premises and found Bano inside a room next to the jail superintendent’s office. She was there to meet Ansari without completing a visitor’s formalities. The Police then lodged an FIR against Abbas Ansari, Bano, and her driver Niyaz. The Police also booked several jail authorities including jail superintendent Ashok Kumar Sagar, deputy jailer Sushil Kumar, jail warder Jagmohan and other unidentified jail employees who were on duty that day.
The SIT investigating the case revealed that Ansari used Bano’s phone to continue his criminal activities from inside the jail. According to the reports, Nikhat Bano, during the interrogation confessed that she had been meeting her husband illegally for the past 80 days. She would arrive at the Chitrakoot jail at 11 am and would spend next 3-4 hours with her husband.
Police said that the duo used to meet in the room next to the jail superintendent’s office and the accused jail authorities would lock the room from the outside. Bano also confirmed that she would wear a burqa and would arrive in different cars to avoid suspicion.
The Police also arrested and interrogated Bano’s driver Niyaz who said that several branded cars and money were provided to the jail authorities to allow Ansari to meet his wife Nikhat Bano. “The jail authorities release all the criminals at 11 am for a casual walk around. It is then that Ansari used to meet Bano. Bano was allowed to enter the premises before 11 am so that nobody could visibly see her. Huge amounts of money and luxurious cars were provided to jail authorities to fix the meetings,” he said.
Reports mention that during the interrogation, Nikhat Bano initially tried to mislead the police but eventually confirmed that Ansari used Bano’s phone to run the criminal activities from inside the jail. The Police have seized Bano’s two phones but haven’t been able to unlock one of them. On asking, Bano said that she had forgotten the password. She also threatened officials with dire consequences for forcing her to reveal her password. However, the police have recovered several suspicious phone numbers from the other phone and are investigating those.
The SIT has further revealed that many jail authorities were found to have obtained expensive cars in recent weeks. However, on inspection, it has been found that the amount for these cars has been funded by Ansari. The cost of one car is said to be Rs 18 lakhs and is believed to be purchased from one of the showrooms in Mau.
Abbas Ansari was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering investigation in November of last year. His father, five-time MLA Mukhtar Ansari, is lodged at the Banda district jail. Abbas Ansari meanwhile was shifted to Kasganj jail on February 18 amid the interrogation of his wife and driver Niyaz. Abbas’s brother, Amar Ansari has demanded protection for Abbas saying that the latter’s life could be in danger in Kasganj jail.
Reportedly, a case against Nikhat and her driver Niyaz has been filed at the Karvi police station in Chitrakoot under Indian Penal Code sections including 222 (intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Police also have invoked the Prevention of Corruption Act, based on the complaint filed by sub-inspector Shyam Dev Singh.
