11 held as bulletproof jackets, pistols found at hideouts of Ansari aides

Police raids were carried out at 42 locations in Lucknow on Tuesday, said police officials.

LUCKNOW: Pistols, cartridges, bulletproof jacket as well as explosives and other materials meant to assemble crude bombs were recovered from Mafiosoturned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s aides on Tuesday during simultaneous police raids carried out at 42 locations in Lucknow on Tuesday, said police officials.

Moreover, eleven people, including three close aides of Mukhtar Ansari, were arrested and total 21 others were detained for questioning during the drive and further investigations were on till late night, they added.

The officials said the police mainly raided the hideouts of people who are actively associated to Ansari. Lucknow commissioner of police (CP) Sujeet Pandey said major gangs were targeted during the drive in the city.

It included people associated with the gangs of Mukhtar Ansari, Khan Mubarak, Dhananjay Singh, Vineet Singh, Pradeep Singh, Annu Tripathi and three gangster brothers Salim, Rustam and Sohrab, he added.

“Total 58 teams were formed for the simultaneous raids at one point of time and it was supervised by deputy commissioners of police (DCP),” said the CP and added, “It has happened for the first time that raids at the hideouts of criminal elements has been carried so extensively”.

The CP further added that

seven heads were majorly covered during the raids, including people and gangs involved in operating gambling dens, betting rackets, providing patronage to criminals, involved in pooling contracts or forcibly getting contracts, land grabbing, extortion and involved in nuisance in the garb of lawyers.

Pandey said Ansari’s close aide Abhishek Singh alias Babu Singh was held from Vibhuti Khand area. He said Babu had total 11 criminal cases registered against him and mainly involved in extortion and land grabbing in Lucknow’s trans-Gomti area.

He said two pistols and 24 live cartridges as well as steel tiffin boxes and explosives meant to assemble crude bombs were found hidden from a basement

of his house in Vibhuti Khand. Two other Ansari’s aides Guddu and Shehzaade were similarly arrested from Wazirganj and Thakurganj areas respectively, he added.

The CP said the bulletproof jacket was recovered from the house of Pradeep Singh, who is considered of patronising shooters and providing services of contract killers to different gangs. He said it is to be verified how Pradeep Singh procured the bloodproof jacket.

Similarly, gangster brothers’ aide Akash was arrested and huge quantity of thermacol boxes used to store blood bags was seized from his hideout. He said Akash was involved into illegal supply of blood in different hospitals in Lucknow.