In recent years, the crime empire of mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari has disintegrated, yet there was a time when he was one of the most feared names in Uttar Pradesh’s criminal world so much so that not only police officials but even District Magistrates and politicians dreaded him. In one of our previous reports, we detailed the atrocities of Mukhtar Ansari in the 2005 Mau riots.
OpIndia had spoken to a social activist from Mau named Chhote Lal Gandhi who narrated the helplessness of the administration when Hindus were being attacked and their homes were being set on fire by Islamists at the behest of gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari during the 2005 Mau riots.
He recalled how Mukhtar Ansari roamed around freely in open jeeps brandishing guns and weapons, but no one had the courage to stop him. He also spoke about one particular incident in which Mukhtar Ansari’s gang members murdered an innocent man in full public view. He added that act was also recorded on camera, but no one had the courage to go public with the information due to the terror of Mukhtar Ansari.
During the course of the conversation with OpIndia, Chhote Lal and another eyewitness Ganesh Singh further narrated a few more instances that went on to explain how the Mau police, local journalists, and politicians were all mere puppets in the hands of the notorious gangster.
Mau police invested their time catching pigs instead of criminals: Eyewitness recalls the terror of Mukhtar Ansari
Chhote Lal recalled how under the direction of Mukhtar Ansari, the Mau police spent much of their time doing menial work like catching pigs rather than focusing on nabbing criminals. Speaking of one such incident that he had personally witnessed, Chhote Lal stated that as Eid drew near, the entire police force was put to use to catch pigs from every lane and bylane of Mau and house them in barns so that they could not be seen roaming the streets until the festival celebrations were over.
“I was standing on an overbridge on Eid when I saw a home guard of the Kotwali police station of Mau spotted a piglet wallowing in muddy water and shouted, ‘Sir pig’ and before anyone could realise, he jumped into the water to catch the pig. The pig was not even going towards the mosque, yet the home guard jumped to catch it.
This episode, according to Chhote Lal, took place prior to the Mau riots. He expressed discontent that the police during those days use to waste their time hunting pigs rather than trying to minimise crime by apprehending criminals He said that the home guard was aware of this and so embarrassed about it that could not even see him in the eye when he came out from the water. Chhote Lal recalled that the home guard was aware of this and was so ashamed of himself that he was unable to even look him in the eye as he came out from the water.
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Journalist beaten up and kept hostage for 24 hours
In a similar vein, another eyewitness named Ganesh Singh told OpIndia how when Mukhtar Ansari was running his crime syndicate from Mau, his henchmen assaulted journalists and media persons without fearing consequences. He narrated one incident that occurred before the 2005 Mau riots when some journalists had attempted to report the attack on the government’s Dak Bungalow in Mau by the gangster’s aides.
He said that Mukhtar Ansari’s henchmen had beaten up a journalist with the butt of their rifles and coerced him into deleting all the pictures he had clicked and the evidence he collected of the attack on the Dak Bungalow. A journalist named Dwarka Gupta somehow showed courage and tried to stop the attack on him but he was taken hostage by the goons.
Ganesh Singh said that Raj Bhavan, the district panchayat president of the Samajwadi Party, and the then-MP Chanddev Rajvaidya went to negotiate the journalist’s release. With hands folded, they both implored Mukhtar Ansari to release the journalist, but their plea fell on deaf ears. Dwarka Gupta was taken captive and tortured by the gangster’s aides for 24 hours. The police and SP leaders, meanwhile, kept watching the journalist getting assaulted helplessly but could do little to get him out of Ansari’s clutches. Dwarka Gupta was later released by the gangster, Ganesh Singh said.
Mukhtar Ansari was painted as ‘Robinhood’ but the truth is entirely different: Eyewitness tell OpIndia
Ganesh said that Mukhtar Ansari was depicted as some sort of ‘Robinhood’ or a ‘Massiah’ who helped people in distress but the truth was very different. He stated that there were unfounded rumours that Mukhtar Ansari contributed generously to the marriage and education of impoverished and destitute children but this was nothing but a blatant lie. “He might have spent on the marriages of his aides but never done anything for the poor,” Ganesh said, adding that the only job he partook in was executing high-profile kidnappings, extortion, land grabbing and murders.
Our previous report on the conversation we had with a social activist from Mau named Chhote Lal Gandhi detailing the atrocities of the 2005 Mau riots can be read here.
