Gangster-Politician Mukhtar Ansari hospitalised, alleges poisoning in prison food

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was admitted to a hospital in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, where he was imprisoned. He was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), and doctors recommended surgery after admitting him to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The move to the hospital occurred at around 1 am on Tuesday. Ansari previously claimed in a Barabanki court on March 21 that his health was deteriorating and accused the prison of serving him poisoned food.

Due to his ill health, he did not appear in the district MP/MLA court regarding a case involving alleged fraud in the registration of an ambulance used to transport him from jail to a Punjab court years earlier.

Ansari's brother, former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Afzal Ansari, supported his claims of poisoning, which the prison authorities denied, stating that all inmates consume the same food and none have experienced health problems.

The ambulance registration case against Ansari and his 12 associates was filed in March 2022, with the next court hearing scheduled for March 29.