Having dealt with dreaded gangster – Vikas Dubey, the Yogi administration is now making life tough for history-sheeters, criminals and gangsters across. Bulk of the state administration’s focus now seems to be on mafia-don and BSP MLA – Mukhtar Ansari. Currently lodged at Ropar jail under several charges, Mukhtar Ansari is a five-term MLA. While politics is a side-business, Ansari’s crime kingdom pretty much stretches across Uttar Pradesh. Ansari is the grandson of Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, an early president of the Indian National Congress.
The Police has now suspended arms licenses of four of Ansari’s aides. On 8 July 2020, a report was submitted to the District Magistrate, that the verification of weapons of three associates of Mukhtar Ansari had not been done regularly. Acting on the same report, the Ghazipur District Magistrate suspended the arms license of three aides of Ansari. Last month, the Uttar Pradesh police conducted raids at illegal slaughterhouses, vehicle stands and other small businesses that were being operated by members of the Mukhtar gang.
A few days ago, UP Police had booked at least 20-25 members of Ansari’s gang in Ghazipur under the stringent Gangster Act. On July 5, the Ghazipur district administration had demolished a godown, built illegally on public land. The godown was built in place of a pond by M/s Vikas Construction in which Ansari’s wife – Afsa Begum and his brother-in-law, Aatif Raja besides three others – Zakir Hussain, Ravindra Narayan Singh and Anwar Shahzada are partners, said Ghazipur DM OP Arya. The godown had been rented out by the gang to the Food Corporation of India. The administration is also said to be probing into irregularities involving Gajal Hotel in Mahubagh locality of Ghazipur, with both the properties registered under the name of Ansari’s wife.
The police also seized properties worth Rs 58.91 lakh of Ansari’s shooter Brijesh Sonkar, and arrested seven accomplices of his. Also, properties worth Rs. 39.80 crore has been freed from illegal possession of Ansari’s relatives and 33 weapons have been deposited in different jails so far after their licenses had been suspended. Superintendent of Police Ghazipur OP Singh informed, “An intense operation is also ongoing against over 20 mafia gangs and their aides in Ghazipur. It is being conducted against criminals, land mafia, mining mafia here.”
Law and order have been the top focus of the Yogi administration since 2017. Such was the ferocious enforcement of law after Yogi took over the reigns in 2017, that erstwhile gangsters and criminals were willingly surrendering before the UP Police, as they deemed the jails to be a safer place to be in. At no point in time has the state police been told to tone down its actions, instead, it has been given a completely free hand by the Chief Minister himself to bring down crime rate in the state.
Action against Mukhtar Ansari’s aides goes on to show that the current ruling dispensation in the state is not in the business of providing patronage and cover to criminals and mafias, rather, is driven to exterminate such elements from society.
