Mukhtar Ansari had become a synonym for terror not only in Purvanchal but in entire Uttar Pradesh. People all over North India now recognize him by his name, but now the reason for this is not the terror his name used to inspire. Since Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the multi-crore empire of crime seems to be crumbling and how.
Before we talk about what happened to this mafia of Purvanchal, especially after Yogi became the CM of UP, let us first know how he built an empire of hundreds of crores by murder and ransom. He is the grandson of Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, who was the President of ‘Indian National Congress (INC)’ in 1927. His brother Afzal Ansari is an MP from Ghazipur. Another Ansari – called Sibkatullah Ansari – has also been an MLA. Hamid Ansari, who was the Vice President of India for a decade, comes from this family.
How Mukhtar Ansari created an empire of crime in Purvanchal
In backward areas like Purvanchal, the situation in the 70s was that more than many criminal gangs and mafia were ready to capture every project of the government. The era of shedding blood for government contracts had begun. There are 16 cases registered against this mafia who became MLA from Mau for the 5th time. The crimes enlisted in these cases are murder, attempt to murder, armed riots, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, fraud for property expropriation, interference with public affairs, and willful attack to injure someone.
There was a time when more than 30 criminal cases were registered against this gangster. The most important of these is the incident of the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. It was 29 November 2005, which is still called ‘Black Day’ by the people of Ghazipur. Krishnanand Rai was the MLA from Muhammadabad. He was also close to Manoj Sinha, who was a minister in the previous central government for 5 years. The same Manoj Sinha, defeating whom from Ghazipur, Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari, became MP.
The killers, fearless of the UP state government, fired 400 rounds of bullets. During the postmortem after the incident, 67 bullets were removed from the bodies of the dead. After getting shot by such a large number of bullets, hardly anyone is left alive, that too when these bullets are fired by AK-47. Hanuman Pandey alias Rakesh Pandey who had executed this shooting was killed in an STF encounter during Yogi Adityanath’s reign. He, at the behest of Mukhtar Ansari, had killed BJP MLA Krishnanandan Rai who had come to inaugurate a cricket match at Sonadi village in the Karimuddin area, on November 29, 2005.
Mukhtar Ansari was first elected as MLA on the BSP ticket. He has won the last three elections sitting in jail. This is the effect of fear and polarization of Muslims in his area for him. In the 80s, he was involved in a gang war with another mafia Brijesh Singh. He had established his presence till Mau, Jaunpur, Ballia, and Varanasi. He pushed many youths from this area into the world of crime. In those years, the area was infamous for the cultivation of opium. His ancestral residence ‘Barka Phatak’ (literally meaning ‘Big Gate’) in Yusufpur of Ghazipur was once the hub of politics of 4 districts.
In 2009, Mukhtar Ansari had a total of 48 FIRs were registered against him. His name also appeared in the contractor Ajay Prakash Singh’s murder case in Mau. The witness of this murder crime was also murdered. Similarly, the witness of the Krishnanand Rai murder case also died under suspicious circumstances. Mukhtar Ansari is from a rich family and his father used to be a communist leader. Mukhtar Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari is also a 5-time MLA and a 2-time MP. Mukhtar Ansari was once expelled from BSP by Mayawati.
Mukhtar Ansari was afraid even to step into Uttar Pradesh in Yogi government
Mukhtar Ansari, who was in jail in Punjab, was afraid to come to Uttar Pradesh because he feared getting killed in a police encounter. When he was going to be transferred from a jail in Punjab to jail in UP, at that time, he did not eat or drink anything on the way and his face was swollen with fear. The Congress government of Punjab had tried hard to save him. The matter reached the court. Eventually, the Yogi government succeeded in shifting him to a jail in Banda.
Then in a letter to Priyanka Gandhi, late MLA Krishnanand Rai’s wife Alka Rai had said, “I have to say with sorrow that under your leadership the government of Punjab and Rajasthan has given the status of state guest to the killer of my husband and the notorious criminal Mukhtar Ansari and his son Abbas Ansari. The proof of this is the photographs published in the newspaper, from which it is clear that under the government’s patronage, the Rajasthan government got Mukhtar’s son married.”
Now know how Mukhtar Ansari’s property worth hundreds of crores has not only been sealed and auctioned under the Yogi government but many of his shops and properties have also been demolished by bulldozers. His assets worth about Rs 300 crore have been either confiscated or razed off. More than 100 criminals of his gang are in jail now. In addition, about 75 arms licenses have also been cancelled. Afzal Ansari now talks about the threat to the family from the Yogi government.
Recently, 17 shops built on the ground floor of Ghazal Hotel of Ghazipur were confiscated. This was located in Mahuabagh and belonged to Mukhtar Ansari’s wife Afsha Ansari. Prior to that 0.091 hectares of land was freed from the possession of one of his close associates. Earlier, coal mafia close to Ansari and owner of Tridev Construction, Umesh Singh’s four-story house built in Bhiti at a cost of Rs 10 crore, was bulldozed. Mukhtar Ansari’s sharpshooter Ali Sher was killed.
Mukhtar Ansari, who once inspired fear in the hearts of people, is now afraid himself. So much so that before being brought to UP, he had expressed the possibility of his murder during the virtual appearance in the court. He feared being killed by poisoning the food. His assets near assembly, worth crores, were confiscated. His henchman Shakeel Haider was arrested for debunking a Rs 66 crore loan. Property worth about Rs 2 crore 18 lakh was confiscated in August 2021.
Property worth Rs 53 lakh of his close friend Nanhe Khan was seized. The police also arrested him. Two of Mukhtar Ansari’s henchmen Meraj and Mukeem were murdered inside the jail. While shifting from Punjab to UP, he was so much frightened that from eyes to the throat, he used to tell the court new diseases every day. Efforts to cancel his assembly membership also started. Afraid of coming to UP, he started eating food only once a day. He was in a wheelchair.
Also, know how the officials who took action against Mukhtar Ansari were intimidated during the SP-BSP regime. In January 2004, Shailendra Kumar Singh was the Deputy SP in charge of the Varanasi unit of UP STF. He had recovered LMG from Mukhtar Ansari’s hideout, after which he was tortured by the then Mulayam Singh Yadav government. He had to resign. FIR was lodged against him. When he went to jail, Yogi Adityanath had called his family and said, “I will do justice, when I will come to the power.” Fake cases registered against him were canceled by the Yogi government.
The judiciary has also ordered to seize the passports of Mukhtar Ansari’s wife and sons. Yogi government removed two IAS officers who benefited his family. Mohammad Azam, a close associate to MLA Mukhtar Ansari, himself demolished his illegal construction. Ansari gang’s Meraj and Isa Khan’s illegal buildings in Mau costing 20 crores were bulldozed. Several cases are registered against Mukhtar Ansari’s wife. She started writing a letter to the President seeking protection.
Similarly, UP Police also bulldozed the property of Azam, a close associate to Mukhtar Ansari. Azam had built an illegal hospital on the banks of the Ganges for ₹ 70Cr. Ansari’s Ghazal Hotel called ‘Mukhtar Ansari’s Taj Mahal’ in Ghazipur was demolished. FIR was lodged against Afzal Ansari’s wife Farhat for encroachment of the property. Property worth Rs 39 lakh was seized from his gang’s Rajneesh Singh. His vehicles worth 4.5 crores were seized. His sons were declared criminals.
