Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was awarded a life sentence by a Varanasi Court on Monday in relation to a 30-year-old murder case of a Congress leader’s brother, Awadhesh Rai.
The MP-MLA court’s special judge Avanish Gautam awarded a life sentence to Ansari in the case, a lawyer told reporters outside the Varanasi court.
Victim’s brother Ajay Rai welcomed the court’s judgement and said, “This is the end of our 32-year struggle against a notorious criminal. I, my parents, Awadhesh’s daughter and the whole family kept patience… Governments came and went and Mukhtar strengthened himself. But we did not give up. Because of our lawyers’ efforts, today the court has found Mukhtar guilty in the murder case of my brother.
As the Rai family’s three-decades-long struggle for justice ends, here’s a brief account of the infamous Awadhesh Rai murder case.
Who was Awadesh Rai and how was he killed?
Awadesh Rai was the elder brother of Congress leader and MLA Ajay Rai who is now a regional chief of his party’s Uttar Pradesh unit. He was shot dead on August 3, 1991.
His brother Ajay Rai is a popular local leader who was earlier in the BJP. He had contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Congress candidate from Varanasi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the prosecution documents, Awadesh Rai was standing outside his house in the Maldiya area of Varanasi on August 3, 1991, when some unidentified assailants arrived in a car and opened fire at him.
Ajay Rai and his associate Vijay Pandey were present at the spot and rushed Awadhesh to the hospital. However, he was declared dead on arrival.
Later, an FIR was filed at Chetganj police station in Varanasi where gangster Mukhtar Ansari, MLAs Abdul Kalam, Bhim Singh, Kamlesh Singh, and Rakesh Srivastava alias Rakesh Justice were named as prime accused.
Mukhtar Ansari, who was convicted in a murder case on Monday, faces multiple criminal cases. He was convicted in a case under the Gangster Act in April.
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