The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is taking strict steps against mafias. The crime empire of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari is also crumbling in the last few years. Recently, an order has been issued to attach the property worth Rs 50 lakh of Anand Yadav, a close aide of jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari. Also, preparations have been made to bring Angad Rai – a shooter in his gang – from Bhabhua in Bihar to Ghazipur. He was arrested by the Bihar police.
Mukhtar Ansari is lodged in jail along with several members of his family. His wife Afsa Ansari is absconding. The police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for her. The police are also conducting search operations at various places to nab her, but she is not arrested so far.
There were times when leaders and officials would fear even speaking about the dreaded mafia. Mukhtar Ansari used to literally rule his district Mau. He also had a significant influence on other adjacent districts in Purvanchal. However, as the government is taking action against his crime empire, people and officials are opening up and sharing their views and experiences about this mafia.
Speaking to OpIndia about this, Mau DSP Dhananjay Mishra said that Mukhtar Ansari has no merit other than being a leader of a particular community and there are five dozen cases registered against him.
Mukhtar Ansari had become so brazen that he even grabbed the land of Hindu shrines. He occupied 4.60 acres of land belonging to a 125-year-old Hindu temple at Dakshin Tola under Sadar tehsil in Mau. In this regard, social activist Chhotelal Gandhi filed a complaint at the police station in 2016.
OpIndia has accessed a copy of this complaint wherein it is said that Mukhtar Ansari had prepared fake land documents in connivance with employees of the revenue department and took possession of the land by getting done an agreement on his own. The complaint also said that along with the documentary preparations, he also gathered criminals in the area and took possession of the land of the Deity by deploying a JCB machine.
However, even in that difficult time, Chhotelal Gandhi stood against Mukhtar Ansari and continues to fight that battle even today. Speaking to OpIndia, Gandhi said, “In 2016, the then MLA Mukhtar Ansari in the presence of 50,000 people laid the foundation stone of Ansari University. He also started occupying land worth about Rs 15 crore adjacent to it belonging to Thakur ji (the Hindu deity – Vishnu).
He further said, “When I came to know about this, I wrote a letter to all the officers in this regard. When no action was taken, in May 2016, I staged a sit-in protest continuously for seven days. When the District Magistrate came to know about this, he brought other officials and said that in seven days the entire land will be returned in the name of Thakur ji.”
Recalling the incident of political persecution by Mukhtar Ansari, Gandhi further said, “At that time, there was a Samajwadi Party government in the state and Mukhtar Ansari was an SP MLA. No DM or other officers would dare to conduct an inquiry against Mukhtar Ansari. There was no investigation. In 2019, Mukhtar Ansari’s close aide Ganesh Dutt Mishra fraudulently registered the land in his name.”
According to Gandhi, Ganesh Dutt Mishra, with the help of Mukhtar Ansari’s political influence, used to occupy large lands and make plotting layouts and sell them. In 2019, he got the deity’s land in his name as he involved some revenue officials and then he started making plotting layouts and selling them. Gandhi told that as soon as he knew this, he immediately informed the District Magistrate. Following this, an FIR was lodged against 60 people, including Mishra.
Chhotelal Gandhi further said, “SDM Nirankar Singh removed the names of all the people on that land record within two months and transferred the land in the name of Thakur ji and made the Mau Collectorate its manager. Mukhtar Ansari’s men still hold significant power in Mau. Even after the formal procedure of land transfer, that land has not been vacated to date.” He told that even today there are so many officers who are afraid of Mukhtar Ansari. They are afraid that they will be persecuted if the regime changes.
Chhotelal Gandhi also informed that he had recently met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and requested action against Mukhtar Ansari’s assets worth about Rs 8 billion. Chhotelal Gandhi also emphasised that he does not fear Mukhtar Ansari and has taken this task against the mafia as a mission.
