Amid tight police vigil, Mukhtar laid to rest

Two days after he died following cardiac arrest in Banda, gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was laid to rest at his family’s ancestral graveyard at Kali Bagh in Mohammadabad town of Ghazipur district under tight police vigil on Saturday

The last rites were performed in the presence of Ansari’s younger son Umar Ansari, his brothers Afzal Ansari, Sibgatullah Ansari and Mukhtar’s nephew and Mohammadabad SP MLA Shoaib Ansari. He was buried next to the graves of his parents.

Two additional SPs, 25 deputy superintendents of police, 21 subdivisional magistrates, 150 inspectors, 3000 police personnel, around 50 plainclothes personnel and several local intelligence unit personnel were deployed in Mohammadabad, many of them outside the graveyard.

District magistrate Ayarka Akhauri and superintendent of police Omveer Singh camped in Mohammadabad and supervised the security arrangements. Both the officers appealed to the people to follow the model code of conduct.

Some people shouted slogans after the burial. The district magistrate said legal action will be taken against them since the model conduct is in force.

The videography of slogan shouting has been done and the footage will be watched.

“We appealed to the people to follow the model code of conduct,” the DM said.

Asked about the slogan-shouting, Ghazipur SP Omveer Singh, too, said videography of those who tried to create ruckus has been done. They will be identified and action will be taken against them, he added.

Earlier, Mukhtar’s body reached his ancestral residence in Yusufpur around 1.15am on Saturday from Banda after the post-mortem.

His brother Afzal Ansari said, “The body was kept (at the house) for people to pay their last respects.”

The funeral procession began around 9am and stopped at Prince Hall ground for namaz-e-janaza (funeral prayer). Thereafter, the body was taken to the graveyard.

Police dealt strictly with the demand that a large number of people be allowed to take part in the ritual of symbolically pouring a fistful of soil into the grave, denying permission to anyone else expect the family and close relatives to participate in it.

SECURITY OF TWO JAILED HENCHMEN BEEFED UP

Meanwhile, according to a report from Gorakhpur, the vigil on two of Mukhtar Ansari’s alleged sharpshooters, Sarfraz Ahmad alias Mannu and Zafar alias Chanda, was tightened in the Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar district jails respectively, officials said.

Officials said legal proceedings against both the accused were going on in the MP-MLA courts of Ghazipur and Lucknow respectively.

Basti jail superintendent confirmed Ankachita Srivastav said he carried out a surprise inspection of Sarfraz’s barracks on Saturday and the number of security guards has been increased.