‘No one safe in jail’, says SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav on death of Mukhtar Ansari

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 29 (ANI): Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said on Friday that the circumstances under which former MLA Mukhtar Ansari died are "extremely worrying," questioning whether the Uttar Pradesh government "will order a judicial inquiry."
Mukhtar Anasri died in a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday.

पूर्व विधायक मुख़्तार अंसारी की जिन परिस्थितियों में मृत्यु हुई वह अत्यधिक चिंताजनक है। उन्होंने न्यायालय में अर्ज़ी देकर पहले ही ज़हर के द्वारा अपनी हत्या की आशंका व्यक्त की थी। मौजूदा व्यवस्था में तो न जेल में कोई सुरक्षित , न पुलिस कस्टडी में और न अपने घर में।प्रशासनिक आतंक…
— Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav (@proframgopalya1) March 29, 2024

In a post on X in Hindi, the SP general secretary said, "The circumstances under which former MLA Mukhtar Ansari died are extremely worrying. He had already filed an application in court and expressed his fear of his murder by poison. In the current system, no one is safe in jail, in police custody, or at home. By creating an atmosphere of administrative terror, people are being forced to keep their mouths shut."
His post added, "Is anyone safe on the basis of the application given by Mukhtar Ansari in the court? Will the UP government order a judicial inquiry?".
Opposition leaders targeted the UP government after the son of the deceased claimed that his father was given poison in the food.
"Now the whole nation knows everything... Two days ago I came to meet him, but I was not allowed... We said earlier also and even today we will say the same about the allegation of giving slow poison. On March 19, he was given poison in the dinner. We will move to the judiciary, we have full faith in it..." Umar Ansari said.
RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "Uttar Pradesh has become a different sort of state now...As I said, when the difference between death and killing disappears, then it leads to lawlessness..."
Reacting to Ansari's death, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on X, "A government that cannot protect life has no right to remain in power. Uttar Pradesh is going through the worst phase of 'government anarchy'. This is 'zero hour' of law and order in UP".
Earlier in the day, Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati said that the serious allegations by Mukhtar Ansari's family regarding his death in jail require a "high-level investigation" so that the facts related to his death "can be revealed.
"In a post on X, the BSP chief said, "The persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari's family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the true facts of his death can be revealed. In such a situation, it is natural for his family to be sad. May nature give them the strength to bear this sorrow."
Ansari was elected as an MLA from the Mau assembly seat five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. He had a strong influence in Ghazipur, his hometown.
In April 2023, Mukhtar Ansari was convicted and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai by an MP MLA court. He was sentenced to life in prison on March 13, 2024, in a case related to the use of forged documents for obtaining an arms licence in 1990. (ANI)