Slain MLA's widow urges Priyanka not to shield Ansari

Lucknow: In yet another letter to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, BJP MLA Alka Rai, widow of slain MLA Krishnanand Rai, has urged her not to shield BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in Ropar jail.

Rai has accused the Punjab government of blatantly providing protection to Mukhtar Ansari who is an accused in the murder of her husband Krishnanand Rai in 2005 .

She further expressed her agony and struggle while fighting for justice for the past 14 years.

Rai, in her letter, said that several like her have been anxiously waiting for Ansari to be punished for his criminal activities and urged Gandhi to show some sensitivity towards the suffering of common people.

Alka Rai has said that Congress and its government in Punjab has been shielding and treating the dreaded gangster like a 'state guest'.

Rai further accused Punjab Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of enjoying hospitality of notorious criminal Mukhtar Ansari during his trip to Lucknow and also expressed threat to her life from the jailed politician.

"We are all suffering. If anything, untoward happens, you (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) and your party (Congress) will be responsible," Rai said.

She further questioned the intentions of Priyanka Gandhi behind shielding such "gangsters who are not only a threat to the society but are detrimental to the tranquillity and harmony of the entire nation".

Alka Rai had written a similar letter to Priyanka Gandhi in October last year but got no response.