UP MLA Abbas Ansari's life under risk

Uttar Pradesh MLA Abbas Ansari's younger brother Umar Ansari has written a letter to the state government claiming that his brother's life is in danger in Kasganj District Jail.

Abbas Ansari, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA from Mau and son of jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, is currently lodged in Kasganj jail in connection with a money laundering case. He was arrested by the executive directorate in November last year.

In his letter, the MLA's brother alleged that his brother's life is in danger from Dhruv Singh alias Kuntu Singh, who is also lodged in Kasganj jail. He requested the government to transfer his brother from Kasganj jail to another jail. He claimed that a plot was being hatched to kill Abbas Ansari with the help of Kuntu Singh in jail.

Kasganj District Jail Superintendent Vijay Vikram Singh said, "We have not received any letter regarding Abbas Ansari. He is lodged in an isolated cell. He was under constant vigilance. Strict instructions have been issued by the Kasganj Jail authorities to ensure that nobody meets Abbas without entered his name in the visitor's register." Kuntu Singh was said to be the mastermind in Lucknow's famous Ajit Singh murder case.

According to police records, Kuntu is among the top 10 criminals of UP. He is the leader of the eight-member D-11 gang. Kuntu has 65 criminal cases against him in different districts. Of these, 32 are related to murder. In 1994, it was marked as a sheet of history in Azamgarh district.

Ansari was earlier lodged in Chitrakoot jail but was shifted to Kasganj days after his wife's arrest.