Mukhtar Ansari, a former gangster and Indian lawmaker, has died from cardiac arrest at the age of 63.
He died on Thursday, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Mukhtar Ansari, who rose from being a gangster leader to a political figure, had been in prison since 2005.
His family, however, has claimed that there is controversy surrounding his death, stating that he was given a “poisonous substance” while in prison.
The BBC reported that the police intensified security in the state as throngs of people gathered outside Ansari’s home upon learning of his passing.
Ansari, once a leader of his gang during the 1990s, faced over 60 criminal charges, including 15 counts of murder.
Transitioning into politics, he won his first state election in 1996 and continued to hold office until 2022.
In April 2023, he was convicted for the murder of Krishnanand Rai, a member of the ruling BJP, receiving a 10-year prison sentence.
Additionally, earlier this month, he was given a life sentence for a 1990 case involving counterfeit arms licenses.
Authorities in Banda district reported that Mukhtar Ansari was taken to the hospital on Thursday after he complained of vomiting.
Despite receiving immediate medical attention from a team of nine doctors, Mukhtar Ansari passed away from a cardiac arrest, as reported in a medical bulletin from the Rani Durgavati Medical College.
Ansari’s brother Afzal Ansari, an MP from the state, alleged that he was poisoned.
“Mukhtar said that he was given a poisonous substance in food in jail.
“This happened for the second time. Around 40 days ago also, he was given poison. And recently, on 19 March and 22 March, he was again given this [poison] due to which his condition deteriorated,
” Ansari told reporters on Thursday.
Umar Ansari, the son of Mukhtar Ansari, revealed that he became aware of his father’s declining health condition through media reports and had not received any information from authorities before his father’s death.
“Two days ago, I came to meet him, but I was not allowed [to],” he said.
The post-mortem of Ansari is scheduled to be conducted on Friday.
