The case of Mukhtar Ansari, a notorious criminal and politician, has been a thorn in the side of the Uttar Pradesh government for years. Ansari, a member of the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), has been accused of numerous crimes, including murder, extortion, and illegal land-grabbing. However, despite the multiple charges against him, he had managed to evade justice for a long time.
Mukhtar Ansari, an ex-gangster turned politician from Uttar Pradesh, is making news in Punjab as the AamAadmi Party (AAP) government in the region raises the matter of his "5-star stay" in a Ropar jail. The Bhagwant Mann-led AAP administration is attempting to hold those former administration officials accountable for Ansari's transit remand to Punjab and subsequent incarceration.
During the previous Congress administration, from January 2019 to April 2021, Ansari was imprisoned at Ropar for more than two years. On January 22, 2019, he was transported to Punjab on a transit remand after an extortion call to a builder in Mohali. He was the subject of a criminal conspiracy and extortion complaint filed under IPC Sections 386 and 506.
During Mukhtar Ansari's two years in the Ropar jail, 48 production warrants were issued; nevertheless, the Punjab Police did not transfer custody of him to the UP Police. When Punjab "shamelessly" retained Ansari, the UP government complained to the Supreme Court. Ansari was sent back to UP in April 2021 on directions from the top court.
After the Aam Aadmi Party government took office, former prisons minister Harjot Bains commissioned an investigation. ADGP RN Dhoke was given control of the investigation. According to Dhoke's allegation, Mukhtar Ansari received five-star care, and certain jail employees work hand in hand with him by accepting bribes. Two of his assistants were also in jail after being booked in some instances, and his family was sleeping outside the jail for convenient access. Mukhtar Ansari did not request bail despite spending more than two years in the Ropar jail.
Mann's declaration that the government would not pay senior Advocate Dushyant Dave's legal fees of Rs 55 lakh, who represented the Punjab government in Supreme Court, brought the problem to light. He stated that taxpayer funds would not be used to pay the fee. Mann stated that he is considering seeking the money back from the "former ministers" who chose to keep Mukhtar Ansari imprisoned in Punjab.
Congress and its leaders, who are complicit in many corruption scandals, are also the originator of the crime-politics nexus. Mukhtar Ansari’s case proves that this Congress is the root cause of every ill that this country is facing.In India, the relationship between crime and politics has a long history, although just recently coming to the public's attention. The emergence of criminals with the active help of politicians and bureaucrats was noted by the N.N. Vohra committee, which was established to investigate the relationship between crime and politics. The committee bemoaned the weakening of democratic government and the rule of law. The ministry of home affairs has kept the report a secret and it was never presented to the parliament.
In his address to a joint sitting of Parliament on the Golden Jubilee of Independence (August 15, 1997), then President K R Narayanan said: "Sheer opportunism and value-less power-politics have taken over the place of principles and idealism, relationships between people, groups and parties… And corruption is corroding the vitals of our politics and our society… It seems the people have to be in the forefront of the fight against corruption, communalism, castes and criminalisation of politics and life in the country."
Only if they listen!
In conclusion, the case of Mukhtar Ansari highlights the complex and murky world of politics and crime in India. The Punjab government's decision to lodge fake FIRs against Ansari to keep him away from UP is a reflection of the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in India.
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