March 13, 2024: Mukhtar Ansari, a Gangster-Turned-Politician, on Wednesday sentenced life imprisonment in connection with a 36-year-old fake arms licence case by the court of Special Judge (MP/MLA) in Varanasi.

The charges against Mukhtar Ansari include cheating, forgery of documents, criminal conspiracy, and violating the Arms Act to obtain a double-barrel gun licence in 1986. This marks Ansari's eighth conviction since September 2022.

On June 10, 1987, Mukhtar Ansari had applied to the district magistrate, Ghazipur, for the licence of a double-barrel gun. Later, the arms licence was obtained with fake signatures of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police.

On December 4, 1990, when this fraud was exposed, the CB-CID lodged a complaint with the police and based on the complaint, a case under various sections of IPC against five persons, including Mukhtar Ansari, was registered at Mohadabad police station, Ghazipur.

The charge sheet was sent to the court in 1997 against the then ordnance clerk Gaurishankar Srivastava and Mukhtar Ansari. Gaurishankar Srivastava died during the hearing of the case. In the case, the statements of 10 witnesses were recorded were recorded by the prosecution.

According to police officials, around 60 cases are pending against Ansari in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, New Delhi and other states.