Banda jail’s barrack no.16 being opened a year after Mukhtar Ansari’s death

KANPUR A year after gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s death following a heart attack while being lodged in Banda jail on March 28, 2024, the jail administration has begun the process of de-sealing his barrack and transferring his belongings to his family members.

Ansari had been lodged in an isolated barrack, number 16, of the jail. He was shifted to Banda Medical College and died due to cardiac arrest, according to a magisterial inquiry report. However, his family claimed poisoning and moved the Supreme Court.

The barrack was sealed in the presence of a magistrate the day after Mukhtar Ansari was pronounced dead at the medical college, with all his belongings inside. It had remained unopened since then.

“The process to unseal the barrack and hand over Ansari’s belongings to his family is being carried out as per the directions of the MP-MLA court,” saud jail superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam.

Additional district judge (MP-MLA court) Garima Singh had conducted an inquiry into the death and instructed the jail administration to unseal the barrack and return the belongings to the deceased’s family. The directions were included in the report she submitted on September 24, 2024, which outlined the entire process for the administration to follow.

The jail administration sent a letter to the district magistrate of Banda on Friday, requesting the nomination of a magistrate to head the committee overseeing the process, which is to be video-recorded. In addition, the jail administration sent four letters to Ansari’s family since September, asking them to collect his belongings. “The family has responded that it fears for its safety and will not be able to come. Instead, they have nominated their lawyer, Naseem, to act on their behalf,” said Gautam.