Mukhtar Ansari has become the talk of the town after the murder of Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Uttar Pradesh. He is a gangster turned politician from Uttar Pradesh. The 59-year-old was elected MLA five times from Mau constituency. He has been in jail for more than 17 years.
However, he comes from a surprisingly prestigious family. His grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was the President of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1927. While his maternal grandfather Mohammad Usman was a Brigadier in the Indian Army. Not only this, former Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari is his uncle.
Mukhtar’s father Subhanullah Ansari was active in politics in UP’s Ghazipur with his clean image. Despite such a background, Mukhtar Ansari became a gangster. Ansari was sent from UP’s Banda Jail to Punjab’s Ropar Jail for hearing a case. After this he stayed there for a long time. Presently he is in Banda Jail.
Ansari has 49 criminal cases registered against him for land grab, murder and extortion. Mukhtar had surrendered before the Ghazipur police in connection with inciting riots in Mau.
And since then he is in jail. Born in Ghazipur, he was notorious for his alleged criminal activities, especially in the districts of Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Jaunpur. He entered politics around 1995 and became an MLA in 1996. Since then he had been elected MLA 5 times from Mau seat of UP. At present, his son Abbas Ansari is the MLA from this seat.