Punjab govt shielding Mukhtar, UP BJP MLA writes to Priyanka Gandhi

Calling Ansari a professional criminal, Alka Rai alleged that the gangster has killed several innocents.

BJP MLA Alka Rai, in a letter to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has accused the Congress government in Punjab of helping jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari evade court appearances.

Rai is the wife of former BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai who was shot dead along with six others in Ghazipur in 2005. Ansari, a five-term MLA, was then named as a key conspirator in the murder case. In July last year, a special court in Delhi acquitted him. The sitting BSP MLA from Mau, however, is currently lodged in Ropar jail in Punjab in connection with an extortion case.

“I have been fighting for justice for my husband for the past 14 years… Several courts in Uttar Pradesh are summoning Mukhtar Ansari, but the Punjab government is not ready to send him to UP. Every time, they (Punjab government) make some excuse and deprive hundreds of people like me from getting justice. It is very shameful of your party and your government in Punjab for openly standing with a dreaded criminal like Mukhtar Ansari. No one will accept that all this is happening without your and Rahul (Gandhi) ji’s knowledge,” the BJP MLA from Mohammadabad in Ghazipur district wrote to Priyanka Gandhi.

Calling Ansari a professional criminal, Alka Rai alleged that the gangster has killed several innocents. “Through media, I came to know that when Uttar Pradesh Police went to bring Mukhtar Ansari, the Punjab government gave him three-month bed rest to save him. Thousands of people like me are disheartened by this and waiting for justice. Today, everyone wants to know why Priyanka and Rahul are silent on questions raised in connection to Mukhtar Ansari. Why are you trying to save a criminal under pressure of a votebank,” she alleged.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Alka Rai claimed that Mukhtar Ansari was not sick. “It is not like he (Mukhtar Ansari) is sick. This has happened even in the past too. When the trial in my husband’s murder case was going on, Mukhtar used to regularly avoid to appear in the court, citing similar health-related excuses,” she said.

When told that a panel of doctors had advised three months of bed rest to Mukhtar Ansari, Alka Rai said that he might “be using his power and money to threaten people”. “All this is happening because the Congress government is in power in Punjab and providing support to Mukhtar,” she added.

Meanwhile, Punjab Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) PK Sinha told The Indian Express that Ansari, who is currently lodged in Ropar jail in an extortion and criminal intimidation case registered against him in Mohali district in January last year, was advised by a panel of three doctors to take bed rest.

“We go by the recommendations of medical officers. Last year, he underwent a medical examination at PGI. He is suffering from back pain and high sugar levels. Last month, a three-member panel of doctors, headed by Ropar civil surgeon, conducted a medical examination and advised Ansari bed rest for three months. The panel also advised him against long travel. He is under bed rest in jail barrack,” Sinha added.

—With ENS, Chandigarh

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