Authorities suspends prison official for allegedly providing “special facilities” to Mukhtar Ansari

|HT|

Authorities have suspended a prison official for allegedly providing “special facilities” to gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is lodged in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district jail, an official said. A second official said Vireshwar Pratap Singh, a deputy jailer, was also accused of obstructing the process of routine check when Banda district magistrate Anurag Patel visited the jail for a surprise inspection. Singh was suspended on the basis of the district administration’s report to the state government.

Officials said that items “not mentioned in the jail manual” were found in Ansari’s barrack during the check.

Ansari, a former member of the state assembly from Mau, was shifted to the Banda prison in April last year after spending over two years in a Punjab jail. He was transferred to the Banda jail in compliance with a March 2021 Supreme Court order. Ansari faces trials in several criminal cases in Uttar Pradesh.

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