Mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was awarded life imprisonment by the MP MLA Court of Varanasi on Monday in a 32-year-old murder case. The pronouncement of the sentence coincided with the birthday of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Soon after the passing the historic verdict, Varanasi court premises resonated with the chant of ‘Har-Har Mahadev’ even as advocates cut the cake to mark the day as Yogi Adityanath’s big day and credited the chief minister’s zero tolerance policy towards the mafia and effective lobbying in court for the verdict.
Special Judge (MP-MLA Court) Avnish Gautam also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Mukhtar Ansari in the case along with life imprisonment. In case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to undergo further imprisonment of 6 months. A fine of Rs 20,000 has also been imposed on Mukhtar in the same case under another section.
Mukhtar, who is presently in lodged in Banda jail, appeared for hearing in the case through video conferencing. He, through his lawyers, first declared himself innocent before pleading for commutation of the sentence citing his age.
The court sentenced him to three years of imprisonment under Section 148 IPC and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and life imprisonment under Section 302 and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. All the sentences will run concurrently. In case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to spend an additional six months in jail.
A total of 61 cases were registered against Mukhtar Ansari, out of which he has been sentenced in 6 cases, including five during the tenure Yogi government. The MP MLA court sentenced Mukhtar Ansari to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs one lakh against him in the 31 years and 10 month-old Awadhesh Rai murder case.