Notice to jail superintendent over Ansari's absence on hearings

Mau (UP), Apr 22: A court here has taken stringent note of the continuous absence of don-turned-Independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari on hearings in the Mau communal riots case.

Issuing a show cause notice to Ghazipur jail superintendent, Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Anil Kumar Pandey asked him to personally appear before the court on April 24.

Ansari has also been asked to appear before the court on April 25.

The jail superintendent has been asked to explain why Ansari -- lodged in his prison -- had not been produced in the court, while all other accused had appeared on case hearings.

The case will soon be transferred to the sessions court.

Observing that Ansari's absence was hampering progress of the case, the CJM sought a reply why penal action be not taken against the jail superintendent.

The Mau communal riots had rocked Mau on October 14, 2005 during a 'Bharat Milap' ceremony.

Ansari is one of the prime accused in the riots case. Presently, he is lodged in Ghazipur jail and been advised bed rest by doctors.

The MLA alongwith his elder brother and Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari and brother-in-law Ejaj Ahmad are also prime accused in the assassination case of Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.

A similar show cause notice was issued to the jail superintendent by Ghazipur CJM also for the continuous absence of the trio in the Rai murder case.

Rai, MLA from Mohammadabad assembly constituency district, and his seven supporters were shot dead in broad daylight in Ghazipur on November 29 last year.

They were ambushed near the Ballia-Ghazipur border by several motorcycle-borne miscreants armed with sophisticated weapons.

Later, an FIR was lodged against 10 persons including Mukhtar, Afzal and notorious east UP gangster Munna Bajrangi in connection with the killing.

Afzal surrendered in the court on December 8 last.

UNI