Mukhtar Ansari, a UP gangster, was convicted in the 1991 murder of Awadhesh Rai. Awadhesh, who was brother of former MLA Ajay Rai, was shot dead outside Ajay Rai’s house in Varanasi.
In the FIR, Ajay Rai named Mukhtar Ansari, Bhim Singh, and former MLA Abdul Kalim. Mukhtar Ansari is a feared gangster-turned-politician in Uttar Pradesh, serving as an MLA from the Mau Sadar assembly seat for five consecutive terms.
He did not run for re-election to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2022, and his seat was won by his son Abbas Ansari of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party.
“Mukhtar has been convicted in the Awadhesh Rai murder case of 1991. The court will pronounce its judgment later in the day,” a lawyer revealed to the reporters.
Reacting to the development, Ajay Rai said, “This is the end of our many years of waiting. I, my parents, Awadhesh’s daughter and the whole family kept patience… Governments came and went and Mukhtar strengthened himself.
“But we did not give up. Because of our lawyers’ efforts, today the court has found Mukhtar guilty in the murder case of my brother,” Rai added.
Mukhtar Ansari was acquitted in a 2009 attempted murder case in May of this year. Mukhtar Ansari was imprisoned for several years because he was the defendant in several other cases.