Take custody of Ansari by April 8: Punjab to UP govt

Chandigarh/ Barabanki/ Ballia: Punjab's home department has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to take custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from the Rupnagar jail on April 8, with BSP MP Afzal Ansari on Sunday saying that his brother's "safety" is now the responsibility of the judiciary and the Yogi Adityanath dispensation.

Mukhtar Ansari, who is wanted in various cases in Uttar Pradesh, has been lodged in the Rupnagar district jail in Punjab since January 2019 in connection with an alleged extortion case.

In a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Home), the home department of Punjab asked for suitable arrangements to be made for the transfer of under-trial prisoner Mukhtar Ansari. "The said handover is to be made at district jail Rupnagar on/before April 8," the letter stated.

It also said that Mukhtar Ansari suffers from certain medical conditions and the same may be kept in mind while making arrangements for his transport from Rupnagar jail to Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Afzal Ansari, who is the MP from Ghazipur, told PTI: "The safety of Mukhtar after he comes to the Uttar Pradesh jail is that of the judiciary and of the Yogi Adityanath government. The court should monitor the safety and medical facilities given to Mukhtar."

He also said that the safety of life of any citizen is the responsibility of the government.

"This duty increases by twice when the prisoner is in judicial custody and by four times, when the state government files a petition in the Supreme Court saying that the hearing of the case is getting affected," the MP said.

In its letter, the Punjab home department referred to the March 26 Supreme Court order that had directed the state government to transfer the BSP's MLA from Mau, Mukhtar Ansari, to Uttar Pradesh's Banda jail in two weeks.

Delivering the order, the apex court had also noted that Mukhtar Ansari was allegedly involved in various cases of attempt to murder, murder, cheating and conspiracy apart from offences under the Gangsters Act, lodged in Uttar Pradesh and 10 of these cases are at different stages of trial.

The Uttar Pradesh Police, officials said on Sunday, has set up a special investigation team (SIT) to further probe into the issue of fake documents of the ambulance which was used to ferry Mukhtar Ansari from the Rupnagar jail to a Mohali court recently.