Last Updated: March 29, 2024, 14:59 IST
Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest on Thursday. (Image: PTI File)
In the phone call that is going viral, a voice, claimed to be that of Mukhtar Ansari, can be heard telling his son that his health had not been well for the past ten days.
Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday at Banda Medical College in Uttar Pradesh. While the Opposition has raised questions over Ansari’s death, his son Umar Ansari has alleged that his father was given ‘slow poison’ in jail. A purported phone call between Ansari and his son, reportedly two days before his death, is making the rounds on social media.
In the phone call that is going viral with claims of it being the last between the gangster and his family, Ansari can be heard telling his son that his health had not been well for the past ten days. Meanwhile, Umar can be heard saying that his family was making all efforts to get permission to meet him in jail at the earliest and get him dates during the month of Ramzan.
While Ansari can be heard telling his son that he has not passed motions for ten days and needs a wheelchair to move, Umar reassured Ansari that he will be well and out of the jail soon in “this holy month of Ramzan”. In the entire audio clip, the voice claimed to be of Ansari is faint and not clear. News18 cannot verify the authenticity of the audio clip.
The clip comes in the backdrop of a raging controversy over the once-dreaded strongman’s death that has prompted authorities to boost security measures in several pockets of the politically sensitive state. A section of politicians in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alleges that Ansari was “slow-poisoned” in captivity. The five-time former MLA from Mau Sadar had been behind the bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He had over 60 criminal cases against him.
Pankaj Singh, an Uttar Pradesh MLA and a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), rejected the charges. “The Opposition keeps saying things. Nobody takes them seriously…A post-mortem is being done…Everything will be clear,” he said on Friday.
Lodged in Banda jail, Mukhtar Ansari died on Thursday after he suffered a heart attack in the prison. He was admitted to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda after his health deteriorated. An official medical bulletin from the hospital noted that Mukhtar died of cardiac arrest.
However, his son Umar and his brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari alleged that he was given slow poison in jail.
Mukhtar Ansari’s older brother Sibgatullah Ansari told news agency ANI that he found out about his brother’s death through the media, adding that he was not informed by the administration.
“He had been very unwell since 18th March and he was not being given any treatment despite raising an alarm again and again. On 25-26 March night, he was in a very bad condition, so he was brought to medical college for a few hours as a formality,” Sibgatullah said, adding that his brother was sent back as he was “stable” and that no treatment was given to him.
Inquiry Ordered Into Ansari’s Death
Banda’s Chief Judicial Magistrate ordered an inquiry by a judicial magistrate into Ansari’s death. A three-member panel has been formed to conduct a magisterial investigation into the death of Mukhtar Ansari. The postmortem of the mafia, set to be conducted by a panel of two doctors, will be videographed.
A former official of the state police said Ansari had received proper medical treatment. “This is a serious matter. An inquiry will take place. Earlier too, senior advocates made the court aware of the health of Mukhtar Ansari and that he needed medical support. After that, he was provided with all proper medical treatment. It’s unfortunate as despite that he died due to cardiac arrest,” former director general of police Vikram Singh said.
