UP govt shifts convicted leaders to far-flung jails

BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari among tainted 15 to be transferred

Fifteen politicians who have a criminal past, and criminals with political links in Uttar Pradesh, are being shifted to farflung jails in the state.

According to ADG prison G.L. Meena, the first name on the list is Mukhtar Ansari, who was recently elected for the fifth time on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket.

Mr Ansari, who is lodged in Lucknow jail, is being shifted to Banda jail in Bundelkhand region.

However, Banda district officials expressed their inability to ensure the security of Mr Ansari, who is now expected to be shifted to another district jail. Mr Ansari was earlier lodged in Agra jail, and was shifted to Lucknow as soon as the merger of his Qaumi Ekta Dal with the SP was announced in June last year.

Mr Ansari, who was in the Vidhan Sabha for the oath-taking ceremony of MLAs, told reporters that he faced a threat to his life and had appealed to chief minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure his safety.

Another criminal to be shifted is former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Shekhar Tiwari, who was convicted for lynching engineer Manoj Gupta in 2008 when the latter refused to pay for Mayawati’s birthday funds.

Mr Tiwari, who is serving a life sentence, is lodged in Barabanki jail and will be shifted to Maharajganj jail.

Other criminals to be shifted are Maulana Anwarul Haq, charged with rape, who is being shifted from Bijnore jail to Fatehgarh jail, and Jeetu, who is being shifted to Lakhimpur jail from Mainpuri.

Three criminals lodged in Muzaffarnagar are being shifted to jails in Basti, Sitapur and Gonda districts. Seven “notorious” criminals lodged in Gorakhpur jail and four in Barabanki jail are also being shifted. “The idea is to break the nexus that these criminals develop with local jail officials and also with people outside,” the ADG said.

The government is silent on transferring Amar Mani Tripathi and his wife Madhui Mani Tripathi from Gorakhpur jail, where the couple is serving a life term for the murder of a poetess.

Amar Mani Tripathi’s son Aman Mani Tripathi, who recently won the elections from Nautanwa, was released from jail. He has been booked for the murder of his wife, Sara.

Sara’s mother, Seema Singh, said on Thursday that she would meet with the chief minister and request him to transfer the Tripathi couple from Gorakhpur jail.