Former BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Fake Arms License Case

A special court in Varanasi, tasked with adjudicating cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), has pronounced a life sentence for former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Mukhtar Ansari in a counterfeit arms license case.

Ansari was found guilty under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), and 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with relevant provisions of the Arms Act.

The case stems from Ansari's application for a double-barrel gun license submitted in June 1987 before the district magistrate in Ghazipur. Allegedly, Ansari obtained the license by fabricating the signatures of the DM and the Superintendent of Police.

In 1990, a criminal case was registered against him under the IPC and the Arms Act.

Ansari, presently incarcerated in Banda jail, Uttar Pradesh, faces multiple convictions in various criminal cases, including kidnapping, a 1999 case under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act, the 1991 murder of Awadhesh Rai (the brother of a Congress leader), and a 2003 case for intimidating a jailer by brandishing a pistol.

Moreover, Ansari's conviction under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act is under challenge in the Supreme Court. In a recent observation, the apex court called him a "dreaded criminal."

The Supreme Court is set to hear the plea challenging Ansari's conviction in April.

Author: Anushka Taraniya

News Writer, MIT ADT University