A cavalcade moves towards Banda Jail to transport gangster-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh jail.
A team of Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday left for Banda jail from Punjab's Rupnagar with gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Ansari is being brought to Banda from Punjab at the behest of the Supreme Court. As many as 100 UP Police personnel reached Punjab yesterday to bring back Ansari. Ansari, an MLA from Mau, is facing trial in several cases in Uttar Pradesh.
The Supreme Court had on March 26 ordered to shift Ansari from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh. The apex court noted that Ansari was allegedly involved in various cases of attempt to murder, murder, cheating and conspiracy apart from offences under the Gangsters Act, lodged in Uttar Pradesh and 10 of these cases are at different stages of trial.
Earlier today, Ansari's wife moved the Supreme Court seeking security and protection for her husband. She said that she fears for his life in Uttar Pradesh and urged the top court to pass necessary directions for her husband's security during the transportation and also when he is produced before the courts for hearing. She said that necessary directions should be given to the state Home department and police for a free and fair trial and "(he)is not killed/encountered in the process".
Meanwhile, two barracks in the Banda jail have been converted into an isolation cell for Ansari who will be lodged here after he is brought back. The barrack will have a three-layer security. The outer security ring will be manned by two teams of civil police, each led by a sub-inspector and 10 armed constables. The second security ring will comprise special CCTVs that have been installed at the entry points and a team of five jail officials which will keep an eye on the CCTV footage round-the-clock. The third and innermost ring will comprise a team of jail warders.
Pramod Tiwari, acting superintendent of the Banda District Jail, said no other prisoner can access Barrack Number-15 where Mukhtar Ansari will be kept.
Ansari has been lodged in Rupnagar prison since January 2019 in connection with an extortion case.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has said that Ansari is facing 52 cases in UP and elsewhere, and 15 of them are in the trial stage.
READ MORE: Mukhtar Ansari's wife moves Supreme Court, seeks protection of her husband’s life
