Lucknow, June 5: On Monday, a Varanasi court sentenced gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari to life in prison for the murder of a Congress leader’s brother, Awadhesh Rai, more than 30 years ago.
On August 3, 1991, outside the entrance of his Lahurabir bungalow in Varanasi, Awadhesh Rai, the brother of Congress politician Ajay Rai, was shot dead. Ansari and others have been charged. Ansari is facing 61 criminal charges in several states, six of which he has already been convicted in.
A Ghazipur court sentenced him to ten years in prison in April under the Gangsters Act. Ajay Rai is currently the Congress Uttar Pradesh unit’s regional head.
Ansari was sentenced to life in prison and fined Rs 1.20 lakh by MP-MLA court special judge Avanish Gautam, according to a lawyer outside the Varanasi court. Ansari watched the proceedings from Banda prison through video conferencing.
“This is the end of our 32-year struggle against a notorious criminal,” Ajay Rai said of the verdict. ?My parents, Awadhesh’s daughter, and the rest of the family remained patient… Governments came and went, yet Mukhtar remained steadfast: But we did not give up. Today, the court found Mukhtar guilty in my brother’s murder case, thanks to the efforts of our lawyers,” Rai continued. He claimed that individuals who battle gangsters will receive justice.
