AAP Minister claims Congress facilitated VVIP treatment for Mukhtar Ansari in Punjab jail

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab Minister, Harjot Singh Bains, on Tuesday, June 28, accused the erstwhile Congress-led state government of providing VVIP treatment to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari when he was lodged in a Punjab jail.

Bains, who is the Minister for Legal & Legislative Affairs, Mines & Geology, Jails and Tourism & Cultural Affairs in the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Cabinet, while addressing the state Assembly, claimed that Ansari was locked in the Ropar jail under a fake FIR for 2 years and 3 months, adding that a chalan was also not presented in Ansari's case. It is important to mention here that, after Ropar jail, Mukhtar Ansari was shifted to Uttar Pradesh's Bandha jail in 2021.

Further, the AAP minister alleged that Mukhtar Ansari's wife was also staying in the same jail with the mafia-turned-politician. He stated that Ansari's wife was placed in the barrack which was allotted for 25 prisoners. He claimed that even after the Uttar Pradesh government's continuous demands for Ansari's custody and 26 production warrants, the Punjab government denied the requests.

Later when the UP government knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court for Ansari's custody, the then Congress government of Punjab hired an expensive lawyer whose fees were allegedly ₹11 lakh. Bains questioned Congress as to who will pay the lawyer, claiming that a bill of ₹55 lakh was due.

"Why should the incumbent regime pay the bills?", the Punjab minister questioned.

However, Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa refuted the claims and stated that since the Cabinet minister has put allegations inside the Vidhan Sabha, he will have to resign from his post if he is not able to prove them.

Mukhtar Ansari makes a series of VVIP demands in UP court

During his virtual hearing at a UP Court, Mukhtar Ansari made a number of VVIP demands, including one for a TV to be installed in his jail cell in Banda. The history-sheeter asked Barabanki Chief Judicial Magistrate Rakesh to install a television in his prison's barrack during his appearance before the Barabanki Court.

The Barabanki Court was informed by Mukhtar Ansari's attorney Randhir Singh Suman that the UP government had set up televisions in jail barracks all over the state so that inmates could watch news and entertainment programmes. He asked that the gangster's barracks have the same amenities. Additionally, Ansari's attorney alleged that he was being denied access to physiotherapy sessions to correct his "orthopaedic problems," claiming that this was an "essential medical aid."

Ansari is being prosecuted in more than 50 criminal cases, not only in Uttar Pradesh but also in other states. A history-sheeter, the former MLA was transferred from jails in Ropar, Ghazipur, Mau, Agra, and Lucknow on extortion-related allegations.