A special court in Varanasi dealing with cases against Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) today sentenced former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Mukhtar Ansari to life imprisonment in a fake arms license case.The trial court found Ansari guilty under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable things), and 468 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), apart from certain provisions of the Arms Act.The fake arms license case is tied to an application made by Ansari in June 1987 for a double-barrel gun license.
theSuperintendent of Police to acquire the gun license.Consequently, in 1990, a case was registered against him under the IPC and Arms Act.
Ansari is presently lodged in Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh in connection with various criminal cases.
He has been convicted in several other criminal cases including for kidnapping, a 1999 case under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act, the 1991 murder of Awadhesh Rai (the brother of a Congress leader), a 2003 case for intimidating a jailer by pointing a pistol at him.
A plea challenging Ansari's conviction under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act is presently pending before the Supreme Court.
While hearing this plea, the top court recently observed that the former BSP MLA was a "dreaded criminal." The matter is slated to be heard by the Supreme Court next in April.
TAGS: Mukhtar Ansari life imprisonment fake arms license case special court Varanasi Bahujan Samaj Party criminal conspiracy
