New Delhi:  A poster of convicted gangster Mukhtar Ansari were put up outside the office of Samajwadi Party on Saturday, April 6. Mukhtar Ansari was lodged in Banda jail in Uttar Pradesh and died of cardiac arrest. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is likely to travel to Ghazipur on Sunday to meet the family of Mukhtar Ansari.  

However, the poster being put up outside the Samajwadi Party's office carried a huge image of convicted gangster - Mukhtar Ansari and urged the people to not celebrate Eid this time. 

The poster, which was later removed, asked the people to observe 2 minutes silence for Mukhtar Ansari. Along with Mukhtar Ansari, the poster carried the images of Samajwadi Party leader late Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav. 

2 Uttar Pradesh Constables Suspended 

Earlier, action was initiated against two constables of Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly posting comments on social media platforms regarding Mukhtar Ansari and his death. The two constables - Faiyaz Khan, posted at a police station in Lucknow, and Aftab Alam - posted at Chandauli, have been accused of posting comments in favour of Ansari on their respective social media profiles. 

Police constable Faiyaz Khan allegedly made certain comments in favour of the gangster-politician on his WhatsApp status and also raised doubts over his death. According to reports, after the WhatsApp status went viral, local authorities removed the constable from his current posting and sent him to the police lines.

Aftab Alam, posted at Chandauli, wrote a Facebook post in favour of Ansari and termed him a "messiah". He was later suspended and departmental action has also been initiated against him. Additional Superintendent of Police, Chandauli, Anil Kumar Singh said the constable violated the social media policy of the Uttar Pradesh police and the state government's conduct rules. 

Judicial Inquiry Ordered into Mukhtar Ansari's Death 

Mukhtar Ansari died on March 28 at Rani Durgawati Medical College after being admitted there from Banda jail when his health deteriorated. He was laid to rest in Ghazipur amid a blanket of heavy security. Ansari had been behind bars in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005 and had over 60 criminal cases against him. 

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bars large gatherings, were imposed across the state and additional security personnel deployed in the Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts after Ansari'd death. 

A post-mortem confirmed that he died of cardiac arrest. However, a judicial inquiry was by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Banda after the opposition parties raised questions over Ansari's death. Ansari's family has also alleged that he died due to "slow poisoning" in Banda jail.