Key Points
The extent of the political patronage enjoyed by Mukhtar can be gauged from the fact that he stayed in a Mohali jail in Congress-ruled Punjab between January 2019 and April 2021, till the Supreme Court chided Punjab for retaining him, said Ashok Singh, brother of contractor Manna Singh, who was allegedly killed at Mukhtars behest in 2009...
While Mukhtar and his elder brother Afzal Ansari were not financially weak initially, there was a time when they had to work at a cinema hall and a cycle stand, respectively, to make money, the CPI leader Yadav, quoted earlier, said.. While several families across communities were troubled by the dominant Bhumihars, even the influential Ansari family could not escape their insults, he added...
After gangster Tribhuvan Singh and his associates Brijesh Singh and Saheb Singh allegedly murdered Sadhu Singh in November 1989, Mukhtar overtook the gang marking the beginning of an empire of terror that gradually extended to UP, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, among other states...
Speaking to mediapersons after meeting Mukhtar on 26 March, his elder brother Afzal Ansari told mediapersons that several attempts were being made to kill Mukhtar inside jail so that he could not testify against Brijesh Singh in the case.. He alleged that days before he could testify, he was poisoned twice, adding it was done so that Brijesh, who has been linked to the BJP, is saved...
Former UP Director General of Police (DGP) Vikram Singh also told ThePrint that political patronage was one of the main reasons why Mukhtars reign of terror continued for decades, even from inside jail...
