Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) president have called for a high-level investigation into the death of mafia-turned-politician and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who passed away on Thursday at Banda jail.
Mayawati expressed her views saying, “A high-level probe is necessary to ascertain the true cause of Mukhtar Ansari’s death in jail. In such circumstances, his family is understandably grief-stricken. May they find the strength to endure this loss.”
Akhilesh Yadav stated, “The government must ensure the protection of life under all circumstances and at all places.
“The death of an undertrial or a prisoner in any of the following circumstances will erode public confidence in the judicial process: while in police custody, in a scuffle inside the jail, due to illness inside the jail, while being taken to court, while being taken to the hospital, during hospital treatment, in a staged encounter, by alleged suicide, or by portraying deaths as accidents.”
He further added, “Supreme Court judges should investigate all suspicious incidents. It is criminal how the administration bypasses the courts and resorts to other methods.
“A government that fails to protect life has no right to govern. Uttar Pradesh is witnessing its worst phase of ‘government anarchy.’ This is UP’s ‘zero hour of law and order.'”
Mukhtar Ansari, an inmate at Banda jail, passed away on Thursday night due to cardiac arrest at Rani Durgawati Medical College. Family members of Mukhtar allege foul play in his death.