Convicted gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, who faced over 60 criminal cases, including those related to murder and extortion, died on Thursday (March 28) due to cardiac arrest in Basti Medical College. Ansari, in April 2023, received a 10-year prison sentence for the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Krishnanand Rai and was lodged at Banda district jail.
Following the assassination of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2007, criminal charges were levelled against Ansari and his sibling, Afzal Ansari. The attack on Krishnanand Rai took place in 2005. On November 29, 2005, while returning from an event, Krishnanand Rai was ambushed, with his vehicle being riddled with bullets from an AK-47 rifle. Approximately 500 rounds were fired, leading to the fatalities of Krishnanand Rai and seven others. Rai himself suffered about 67 bullet wounds. Shockingly, the assailants went further by decapitating Krishnanand Rai. Ansari was implicated in the murder.
Reports suggest that the severed head was presented to Ansari. Subsequently, the police procured an audio recording as evidence, purportedly captured during Krishnanand Rai’s assassination. Mafia kingpin Abhay Singh, incarcerated in Faizabad jail, contacted Ansari, detained in Gazipur jail. During their conversation, Ansari was heard informing Abhay Singh about the gunfire exchange involving Munna Bajrangi and Krishnanand Rai. Later, Ansari remarked, “Choti kaat li..Jai Shri Ram mutthi me hain…”
Krishnanand Rai, a prominent figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. His political journey gained notable attention during the 2002 UP assembly elections, where he secured victory on the BJP ticket from the Mohammadabad constituency.
Rai’s tenure as an MLA spanned from 2002 to 2005. Interestingly, he had contested from the same assembly seat in 1999, albeit unsuccessfully in his attempt to sway the voters’ favor.
However, Rai’s triumph in the 2002 elections didn’t sit well with Mukhtar Ansari, alongside his elder brother and BSP leader, Afzal Ansari, in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Their dominance in the region faced a significant challenge with Rai’s electoral success.
With Rai’s rising political stature, he found himself in the crosshairs of adversaries, particularly Mukhtar Ansari’s gang. Tragically, Rai’s life came to a devastating end on November 29, 2005, when Mukhtar Ansari’s gang ambushed his convoy near Basaniya Chatti.
The ambush, marked by a barrage of approximately 500 rounds of gunfire, resulted in the deaths of Rai and six others. The incident reverberated throughout the region, sending shockwaves and triggering widespread outrage and demands for justice.
Former Chief Minister, now Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh spearheaded protests in Varanasi in response to Rai’s assassination.
Eventually, Mukhtar Ansari and his brother were acquitted by the CBI court in 2019, marking the culmination of a prolonged legal process surrounding the tragic events.
Reacting to Ansari’s death, deceased BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai’s son Piyush Rai said that Mukhtar Ansari’s death is truly Baba Gorakhnath’s blessing for his family, maybe even some kind of Allah’s justice in the month of Ramzan.
“I have come to know that he has died in Banda jail. As the media is saying he [Ansari] has died due to a heart attack. I believe this is the blessing of Baba Gorakhnath. Justice has been served. Somewhere I think it is Allah’s justice in the holy month of Ramzan that a dreaded criminal like Mukhtar Ansari has died…” Piyush Rai said.
