LUCKNOW: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest, not slow poisoning as alleged by his family, according to a report presented by the District Magistrate (DM) of Banda district. The probe was conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding Ansari’s death.Ansari, who was 63, passed away from a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in March this year. He had been incarcerated in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005, facing over 60 criminal cases. The DM’s report reaffirmed the findings of Ansari’s autopsy report and has been forwarded to the state’s higher authorities.Ansari had been sentenced in eight criminal cases by various courts in Uttar Pradesh since September 2022 and was held in Banda jail at the time of his death. Following his death, his family alleged that he had been administered slow poison through his prison food by jail officials.Mukhtar Ansari’s son, Umar Ansari, publicly claimed that his father had been subjected to “slow poisoning” in prison and requested that the post-mortem be conducted by AIIMS doctors in Delhi. He also demanded a magistral probe into the death.In response to these allegations, a probe was ordered by the District Magistrate of Banda. The investigation confirmed that Ansari died from a heart attack while in jail. Forensic examination of samples of salt, jaggery, and chickpeas found in Ansari’s barrack did not reveal any poisonous substances. Additionally, statements from security personnel deployed in Ansari’s barrack, doctors from the jail, Banda Medical College, and the panel of doctors who conducted the post-mortem were recorded during the probe, which rejected the claims of “slow poisoning.”
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