Notwithstanding the steps taken to increase the security in the jails of Uttar Pradesh, the killing of gangster Munna Bajrangi has sent shivers down the spine of other mafia dons serving prison terms.

Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi was gunned down allegedly by another gangster Sunil Rathi in Baghpat jail early Monday morning.

In the wake of Bajrangi’s cold-blooded killing, the other gangsters are apparently ill at ease regarding their own security behind the high walls of the UP jails. Eyebrows have already been raised at the manner in which he was shot down. Questions have been raised on how a pistol could find its way amidst such tight security in the Baghpat jail.

Once the protégé of alleged don-cum-politician Mukhtar Ansari whose writ still runs large in eastern UP (Purvanchal), Munna Bajrangi had fallen out with his mentor. Ansari is currently lodged in the Banda jail.

Munna has been locked up in different jails of the state in connection with the 2005 sensational murder of the BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in Ghazipur. Rai was gunned down allegedly by Munna Bajrangi who is said to have pumped in 100 bullets in his body with an AK-47 rifle. It was for the first time that an AK-47 was used by the underworld to settle scores.

Ansari has reportedly been keeping frail health and had to be rushed to Lucknow recently when he complained of chest pain. Ansari’s rival and another alleged mafia don Brijesh Singh is lodged in Varanasi jail. Dreaded gangster Sunder Bhati is in Hamirpur jail, Anil Bhati is interned in Kaushambi jail and Anil Dujana is lodged in Banda jail. Other alleged gangsters such as former MLA Atiq Ahmad is serving a jail term in Beoria prison, while Sunil Maheshwari alias Jiva is lodged in the Barabanki jail.

Just as Munna Bajrangi was apprehensive about his safety if he stepped out of jail, a similar predicament is being faced by the other dons who apparently feel more secure behind the seemingly impregnable walls of the prisons. But Bajrangi’s gunning down has left them shaken.

Sources said the killing generated a sense of panic. It led to many prisoners not venturing out of their barracks for the routine morning walk.

Following Bajrangi’s murder, an intensive search operation was conducted in the jails across UP. The minister of state for prisons Jai Kumar Singh said that directives have been issued to beef up security in the jails.

Meanwhile, Munna Bajrangi was cremated at Manikarnika ghat in Varanasi amid tight security on Tuesday. The pyre was lit by his 14-year-old son. Reportedly 100 vehicles accompanied Munna Bajrangi’s funeral procession from his parental village Pure Dayal Kaseru in Jaunpur district.

His body was brought to his village from Baghpat on Tuesday.