KEYWORDS: Mukhtar Ansari, Ajay Rai, Awadhesh Rai, Varanasi Court, Avanish Gautam
On Monday, a Varanasi court found gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari guilty of the murder of Congress leader Awadhesh Rai more than 30 years ago.
On August 3, 1991, Awadhesh Rai, the brother of Congress politician Ajay Rai, was shot dead outside the entrance of his Lahurabir mansion. Mukhtar Ansari and others have been charged with the affair.
In the FIR, Mr. Rai implicated Mukhtar Ansari, Bhim Singh, former MLA Abdul Kalim, and two others. This is Ansari’s sixth conviction out of 61 criminal prosecutions. Twenty more charges against him are pending in other sections of the state.
Mukhtar Ansari, a five-term MLA, was sentenced to ten years in prison in April for another kidnapping and murder case.
“Mukhtar was found guilty in the 1991 murder of Awadhesh Rai. “The court will issue its decision later in the day,” a lawyer in Varanasi informed reporters.
“This is the end of our many years of waiting,” Ajay Rai stated in reaction to the news. “I, my parents, Awadhesh’s daughter, and the entire family were patient… Governments came and went, and Mukhtar became stronger. However, 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 said.[1]
After concluding arguments, Avanish Gautam, a Special Judge of the Varanasi MP MLA court closed the hearing in the Awadhesh Rai case on May 19, reserved its order, and set June 5 as the date for the judgment.[2]
Written by- Satyanshu Sharma, College name- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, Semester- 2nd, An intern under Legal Vidhiya
[1] NDTV, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/jailed-gangster-mukhtar-ansari-convicted-in-32-year-old-murder-case-4094928 (last accessed on 05th June, 2023).
[2] SCC Online, https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2023/06/05/former-mla-mukhtar-ansari-convicted-in-32-year-old-awadhesh-rai-murder-case-by-a-up-court-legal-news/ (last accessed on 05th June, 2023).
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