Abbas Ansari, a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the son of don Mukhtar Ansari was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday after he was interrogated for 9 hours. Abbas was summoned for interrogation post his name came up in investigations into the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against his father Mukhtar Ansari.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested MLA Abbas Ansari. Ansari was grilled by the ED for over 10 hours. Money laundering case in focus.@bhavatoshsingh shares more details with @anchoramitaw pic.twitter.com/Jlm114XiUJ
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 5, 2022
The Mau MLA was grilled for 9 hours at the Prayagraj office of ED. Abbas skipped multiple summonses, leading to a lookout notice being issued by ED. The investigation pertains to a case of money laundering against his father Mukhtar Ansari in March 2021.
Abbas was on the run after UP Police registered a case against him for hate speech during the assembly elections in the state this year. He has also been declared an absconder by a special MP-MLA court in an arms license case this August. Later he was granted bail after he surrendered on October 21.
“Abbas Ansari was called by the ED for the second time today and he had come around 2 pm. The questioning lasted till 11 pm after which he was arrested and taken to some unknown place. Can’t tell why they have been arrested and taken away,” said Mohammad Farooq, lawyer of Abbas Ansari.
Don Mukhtar Ansari’s wife Afsa Ansari, MLA son Abbas Ansari and brother-in-law were all declared fugitives by the Police in July. Multiple raids were conducted to trace them including one at their ancestral residence in Ghazipur.
Mukhtar Ansari, the ‘Don’
Mukhtar Ansari is a former MLA from Mau and belongs to Yusufpur in Mohammadabad in the Ghazipur district of UP. Mukhtar Ansari is facing more than 50 criminal charges across the country and not only in Uttar Pradesh. The ex-Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) MLA has a long criminal record, having spent time in prisons in Ropar, Ghazipur, Mau, Agra, and Lucknow on extortion allegations. Ansari is now jailed at the Banda district jail after being moved from Punjab on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Mukhtar Ansari’s gang is listed in Uttar Pradesh’s records as IS (Inter-State) Gang 191, and his assets have been seized under Section 14 A of the Gangster and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Mukhtar Ansari, his family, and the gang have lost about Rs 390 crore as a result of Uttar Pradesh police actions.
