Mukhtar Ansari was handed a life sentence on Wednesday by a special MP/MLA court in Varanasi, pertaining to a 36-year-old fake arms licence case. The court, having convicted the notorious gangster-turned-politician on Tuesday, had set March 13 for the announcement of the punishment’s quantum.
During the proceedings, Mukhtar Ansari appeared before the court via videoconferencing from the Banda jail, where he is currently incarcerated. Following due consideration, Special Judge (MP-MLA) Avnish Gautam found Mukhtar guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, including section 428 (mischief), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and section 30 of the Arms Act.
The origins of this case trace back to June 10, 1987, when Mukhtar Ansari applied for a double-barrel gun licence from the district magistrate’s office in Ghazipur. However, it was later discovered that the arms licence had been obtained using forged signatures of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police.
Upon the revelation of this fraud on December 4, 1990, the CB-CID filed a complaint with the police, leading to the registration of a case against five individuals, including Mukhtar Ansari, at Mohadabad police station, Ghazipur.
The charge sheet, filed in 1997, implicated Mukhtar Ansari and the then ordnance clerk Gaurishankar Srivastava. However, Gaurishankar Srivastava passed away during the course of the case proceedings. Throughout the trial, the prosecution recorded statements from 10 witnesses.
Mukhtar Ansari’s legal battles extend beyond this case, with approximately 60 cases pending against him in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, New Delhi, and other states. He has already been convicted in at least seven cases.
In another notable development, the MP/MLA court sentenced Mukhtar Ansari to five and a half years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹10,000 in connection with a case related to threatening a witness in the coal businessman Nand Kishore Rungta murder case.
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