Mukhtar Ansari's son urges SC to order inquiry into father's death in custody

New Delhi: Seeking inquiry into the death of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, his son, Umar Ansari, on Monday, told the Supreme Court that it was not a death simpliciter but the result of slow poisoning in jail.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Umar Ansari, submitted before a bench headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, that an application calling for an inquiry into death in custody has been filed in the pending petition.

He alleged that food given to Mukhtar Ansari in jail was poisoned and he was denied the requisite medical treatment.

Issuing notice, the Bench, also comprising Justice SVN Bhatti, asked Additional Solicitor General K.M. Natraj, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, to file a response within four weeks to the application seeking modification of the prayers.

In a writ petition filed before the apex court in December last year, Umar Ansari apprehended that there was a plan to assassinate his father in Banda jail prior to the 2024 polls and sought the transfer of Mukhtar Ansari to any jail outside UP.

The Uttar Pradesh government assured the Supreme Court that if needed, it would enhance the security of Ansarif to ensure no harm is caused to him within jail precincts.

On January 16, after going through a confidential note detailing the security arrangements made by the state authorities, the SC had expressed satisfaction with the steps taken and observed that the security measures appeared "formidable enough". It ordered the matter to be taken up for further hearing in the third week of July 2024.

In the meantime, Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest at the Rani Durgawati Medical College in Banda district on March 28 this year while serving jail time. His viscera test report confirmed that no poison had been found and the cause of death was found to be heart attack. The post-mortem was conducted by a panel of five doctors in the rank of Chief Medical Superintendent.