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Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies of heart attack

Ansari had been admitted to a Banda hospital after his health deteriorated

Mukhtar Ansari | Twitter/ANI

Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on Thursday night. He was 60.

According to an official medical bulletin, Ansari was admitted to the Rani Durgavati Medical College in Banda around 8.25 pm after he suffered a heart attack in the jail.

Ansari had been hospitalised for around 14 hours on Tuesday after he complained of abdominal pain.

Naseem Haider, Ansari's lawyer, told reporters that he was informed by the jail authorities that the gangster-turned-politician was taken to the Banda Medical College but no further information was provided.

Ansari, a five-time former MLA from Mau Sadar, has been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005. He has over 60 criminal cases pending against him. His name was on the list of 66 gangsters issued by Uttar Pradesh Police last year.

Meanwhile, the police have tightened security in Mau, Gazipur, and Banda. Prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 imposed across Uttar Pradesh.