Mukhtar Ansari’s cremation held in tight security

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was laid to rest on Saturday morning in his residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Gazipur district, following the arrival of his mortal remains late Friday night. The city’s administration had enforced heavy police presence for the funeral proceedings.

Sibgatullah Ansari, Mukhtar Ansari’s elder brother, had initially announced that the last rites would take place on Saturday morning.

“We received the body after some delay so the last rites cannot be performed tonight. It will be done tomorrow morning. I request everybody to pray for him,” Sibgatullah Ansari told ANI on Friday.

Mukhtar Ansari, passed away in a Banda hospital where he was incarcerated in a jail. His demise was attributed to a cardiac arrest, although his family alleged that he had been administered what they termed “slow poison.”

The post-mortem examination confirmed that Mukhtar Ansari died due to a cardiac arrest and not poisoning. A senior hospital source, privy to the post-mortem report on condition of anonymity that “the cause of death of Mukhtar Ansari was found to be heart attack (myocardial infarction).” The autopsy was conducted by a panel of five doctors.

Mukhtar Ansari’s younger son Umar Ansari was present during the post-mortem conducted at the Rani Durgavati Medical College.

A three-member team has been appointed to conduct a magisterial investigation into Mukhtar Ansari’s death. Umar Ansari had requested that the post-mortem examination be conducted at Delhi’s AIIMS, a demand which was rejected. He expressed hope that the investigation would address the family’s concerns.

“We hope that the court will help investigate the suspicions that we are expressing. We will consult our legal team. We are confident that this is not a natural death but an orchestrated murder,” he stated on Friday.

Mukhtar Ansari was admitted to the hospital at 8:25 pm on Thursday, where a team of nine doctors attended to him, but he succumbed during treatment. Sibgatullah Ansari, his elder brother, alleged inadequate treatment had been provided to him.