Mukhtar Ansari Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in 1990 Arms Licence Case

New Delhi: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was handed a life sentence on Wednesday in connection with a fake arm license case.  The court on Tuesday had convicted Ansari and fixed March 13 for pronouncing the quantum of punishment in the case. On behalf of the prosecution, additional district government counsel (criminal) Vinay Kumar Singh and special prosecution officer Udayraj Shukla submitted before the court in the matter. During the hearing, accused Mukhtar Ansari appeared in the court through video conferencing from Banda jail where he is lodged.

After hearing the matter, MP/MLA court of Special Judge (MP-MLA) Avnish Gautam convicted Mukhtar guilty in the case under section 428 (mischief), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and section 30 of the Arms Act, Singh said.

What is the fake arm license case? 

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, CB-CID lodged a complaint with 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 by the prosecution.