Highlights
- ED raided places linked to Mukhtar Ansari in Delhi, UP
- Raids were conducted in connection with an alleged prevention of money laundering case
- Mafia don and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari is currently lodged in Uttar Pradesh's Banda jail
Uttar Pradesh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids early on Thursday at several locations linked to jailed former MLA and gangster Mukhtar Ansari. The raids were conducted at three places linked to his close aides and family members in the Ghazipur district. The raids were also conducted at the Dali Bagh area in the capital city, Lucknow. Ansari’s residence in Mohammadabad is also being searched.
ED team is also searching the premises of MP Afzal Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari in Delhi. Among those raided in Ghazipur are Ansari's close associates Vikram Agrahari, Ganesh Mishra and the owner of Khan bus service.
The action comes in less than a week after the Ghazipur district administration in Uttar Pradesh seized two plots of land, measuring 1.901 hectares and valued at over Rs 6 crore, that were purchased using illegal earnings of Mukhtar Ansari.
According to the police, the plots -- one measuring 0.394 hectare in Rajdepur of Ghazipur Sadar and another measuring 1.507 ha in Fatehullahpur of Nandganj -- were registered in the name of Ansari's wife Afshan Ansari. The plots were seized by a team led by Superintendent of Police Rohan P Botre following all necessary legal procedures.
The value of the confiscated land has been estimated at Rs 6.30 crore. According to an order issued by District Magistrate Mangala Prasad Singh, the properties were seized under Section 14(1) of the Gangsters Act. Ansari, a five-time former MLA, is currently lodged in Banda jail.
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