Mukhtar Ansari gets life imprisonment in 1991 Congress leader murder case

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was on Monday awarded life imprisonment by Varanasi’s MP MLA court in the 1991 Awadhesh Rai murder case. Earlier in the day, the same court had convicted him in the over three-decades-old murder case of Congress leader Awadhesh Rai.

“Ansari was presented before the court through video conference where the court convicted him under Sections 145 and 302,” said Advocate Vikash Singh.

After Mukhtar Ansari was given life imprisonment by a Varanasi court, Awadhesh Rai's brother Ajay Rai said he has won a 32-year battle. “Today, we have won after a 32-year-long battle. We welcome the verdict of the court...If any incident happens with me, its responsibility will be on the BJP government," he said.

Awadhesh Rai, the brother of Congress leader Ajay Rai, was shot dead on August 3, 1991, at the gate of his Lahurabir residence in Varanasi. A case was registered against Ansari and others.

Ajay Rai fired from his licensed pistol in retaliation, following which the assailants fled, leaving the car behind, they said. Awadhesh was rushed to a hospital in Kabirchaura, where doctors declared him dead.

Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat, did not contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and the seat was won by his son Abbas Ansari on a ticket from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, which had tied up with the Samajwadi Party.

Over 30 years later, Mukhtar Ansari was convicted and sentenced in the 1991 Congress leader murder case.