Following slow-poisoning allegations, Mukhtar Ansari's post-mortem today

Banda (Uttar Pradesh) : A panel of five doctors will carry out a post-mortem on the body of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who died of cardiac arrest on Thursday night.

The doctors in the rank of Chief Medical Superintendent will examine his mortal remains on Friday morning.

The family of Ansari will be allowed to remain present during the post-mortem and the entire process will be videographed.

Meanwhile, his family alleged that Mukhtar was poisoned in the prison and earlier this month his lawyer told a court that there was a threat to his life in Banda jail, adding that he was fed some poisonous substance with his food, according to NDTV.

"Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in his food in jail. This happened for the second time. He was given poison around 40 days ago as well. And, recently, on March 19, he was again given this (poison) due to which his condition was bad," his brother Afzal Ansari was quoted as saying.

Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar said he would approach the court alleging that his father was given poison in the food.

Politicians including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati pressed a probe into the allegations.

Alongside Umar Ansari, told reporters that their family wanted that the autopsy be carried out in another district, instead of Banda.

Family sources said their lawyers will also put in an application for parole for Abbas Ansari, Mukhtar's elder son, so that he can attend his father's burial. Abbas is presently lodged in Kasganj jail.

Meanwhile, the burial will take place later on Friday in Kalibagh graveyard in Mahmoodabad in Ghazipur.

Confirming this, official sources said that adequate police deployment had already been made there and policemen in civil uniform had also been posted.

A close watch will be kept on those attending the burial. The social media is also under scanner and local intelligence units personnel have also been deployed.

Speculations are rife about the possibility of Mukhtar's wife, Afsha Ansari, who carries a reward of Rs 50,000 on her head, arriving in Ghazipur for the final rites. Afsha has been absconding since the past several months.

Born on June 30, 1963, in Uttar Pradesh's Yusufpur, Mukhtar Ansari's journey from the alleys of crime to the corridors of power was captivating, to put it rather mildly.

Ansari's foray into the world of crime began in the 1980s. His involvement in organised crime escalated through the 1990s, particularly in the districts of Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi, and Jaunpur.

He became a notable figure in the underworld, engaging in fierce rivalries, mostly with Brijesh Singh, over the control of lucrative contracts spanning coal mining, railway construction, and other sectors.

The period was marked by violent confrontations, including an ambush on his convoy in 2002 that left three of his men dead and sparked further bloodshed in the region.

Ansari slowly transitioned into politics and managed to win the Assembly elections for five consecutive terms since 1996 from Mau.

Ansari's political career was characterised by its duality. While he was seen by some as a Robin Hood figure, others viewed him through the lens of his criminal activities.

His tenure in politics included affiliations with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), where he was portrayed as a 'messiah of the poor', and later the formation of the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) with his brothers after being expelled from the BSP.

Ansari's life was marked by legal troubles, as he faced charges in more than 60 cases since being lodged in prison in 2005.

His criminal record included accusations of murder, kidnapping, and extortion.

In April 2023, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the killing of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. In March 2024, he received a life sentence in connection with a fake arms licence case.

IANS with inputs from other sources