Mukhtar Ansari, the jailed gangster-turned-politician, died of a cardiac arrest in Uttar Pradesh's Banda on Thursday, following which, the Uttar Pradesh Police issued prohibitory orders across the state. Ansari (60), a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar, had been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He had over 60 criminal cases pending against him.

MUKHTAR ANSARI DIES: WHAT FOLLOWS

Officials at the police headquarters in Lucknow said Ansari's post-mortem will be done in Banda on Friday, and it will be videographed. The viscera will be preserved if needed, they said. Meanwhile, preparations were underway for his cremation at the Mohhamadabad burial ground.

A magisterial investigation, into the death of Mukhtar Ansari, will be conducted by a three-member team, news agency ANI reported. This comes after Ansari's brother and Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari, and Ansri's son alleged he was being subjected to "slow poisoning" in jail, a charge denied by the authorities. Ansari's son, Umar Ansari, also said his family would move to the judiciary.

A high alert was sounded in Uttar Pradesh, and large gatherings were banned as Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was also imposed across Uttar Pradesh. The state police deployed additional security personnel in the Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts. The social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police has also been activated to keep a close watch on unlawful elements online, the police chief told news agency PTI.

Several political leaders condoled Ansari's demise and questioned the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government about the allegations surrounding the MLA's death. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said despite serious allegations over the former MLA being poisoned, the state government did not pay attention to his treatment.

Former Bihar MP Pappu Yadav, who joined the Congress recently, termed Ansari's death an "institutional murder" and demanded a court-monitored probe into it.

Source: India Today