Mukhtar Ansari appears in court in communal riots case

Mau, July 6 (UNI) Don-turned-Independent MLA from Mau (Sadar) in Uttar Pradesh Mukhtar Ansari and 32 others today appeared before a local court in connecton with the Mau communal riots case.

District and sessions judge Dinesh Gupta posted the case for hearing to June 17.

The statement of three witnesses, including investigator Bachha Paswan and two doctors, were recorded.

So far, the statement of 27 out of a total of 28 witnesses have been recorded. However, 21 of them have turned hostile.

On May 20, the court had fixed charges against the 33 accused in the case. The charges pertained to murder and attempt to murder during the communal riots, which had rocked Mau on October 14, 2005 during a 'Bharat Milap' ceremony.

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

Rai, an MLA from Mohammadabad assembly constituency in Ghazipur district, and his seven supporters were shot dead 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 people including Mukhtar, Afzal and notorious east UP gangster Munna Bajrangi in connection with the killing.

Afzal surrendered in the court on December 8. The Ansari brothers ard Ejaz are presently lodged in Ghazipur district prison.

UNI XC/VS RR GC1918