Varanasi, December 15: A special court here on Friday sentenced gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari to five-and-a-half year's imprisonment for death threat to a coal trader in 1997. Along with the imprisonment, the MP-MLA court of Ujjawal Upadhyay also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Ansari after convicting him for threatening to kill Mahaveer Prasad Ranguta, the victim's counsel Vidhan Chandra Yadav said.

Ansari had threatened to blast Ranguta, a Varanasi resident, and his house in January, 1997, Yadav said. The court completed the hearing in the case on December 5 but reserved its judgment. The bench convicted Ansari and announced the quantum of punishment on Friday, he added. Ansari attended the court proceedings via video conferencing from Banda jail, Yadav said. Mukhtar Ansari Murder Plan: Gangster-Turned-Politician’s Son Moves Supreme Court Alleging Plan To Assassinate His Father in Jail Before 2024 General Elections.

Ansari, who is an accused in several cases, is lodged in Banda jail since 2021 after being brought from a Punjab Jail. According to information provided by UP police headquarters, Mukhtar has 65 cases, including that of murder, extortion, and criminal conspiracy lodged against him at several police stations across the state. He has been convicted in seven of these cases.

Ansari was a five-time MLA from the Mau assembly constituency. The gangster-turned-politician did not contest the 2022 assembly elections and his seat was won by his son Abbas Ansari from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP). Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government assured the Supreme Court on Friday it will strengthen the security of Mukhtar Ansari inside the Banda jail, if needed, so no harm is done to him. Ghazipur Court Sentences Mukhtar Ansari to 10 Years in Jail in 2010 Gangsters Act Case.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol was hearing a plea by Mukhtar Ansari's son Umar Ansari seeking a direction to transfer his father to any prison outside Uttar Pradesh.

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