Fugitive Wife of Mukhtar Ansari Evades Income Tax Department’s Summons

Lucknow: Afsha Ansari, the wife of notorious gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, failed to appear before the Income Tax Department’s Investigation Wing for questioning. The department had summoned her to their Lucknow office in connection with the discovery of Ansari’s benami properties.

Notably, the Income Tax officials had previously attached a property worth over Rs 12 crore in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, under the Prevention of Benami Properties Prevention Act (PBPPA). This property, registered in the name of Ganesh Dutt Mishra, a trusted aide of Ansari, was found to be owned by the gangster-politician himself. The investigation exposed Mishra as a fictitious entity, merely acting as a front for Ansari.

A senior official involved in the probe stated that these benami properties are suspected to be derived from Ansari’s criminal activities and corrupt practices. As a result, the process of attaching all such properties has commenced.

Meanwhile, Afsa, Mukhtar Ansari’s wife, has been evading authorities for some time now. In April, the Uttar Pradesh Police issued a lookout notice to prevent her from escaping the country. Law enforcement agencies have conducted multiple raids in various locations in an attempt to locate her.

In a separate legal matter, Mukhtar Ansari, currently incarcerated in UP’s Banda jail under the Gangster Act, received a life imprisonment sentence on Monday. The verdict was pronounced by a special court in Varanasi regarding the Awadhesh Rai murder case. Awadhesh Rai, the brother of Congress leader Ajay Rai, was tragically gunned down outside his residence in Varanasi’s Lahurabir on August 3, 1991.

The authorities continue their relentless pursuit of justice, determined to uncover further details and bring those involved in Mukhtar Ansari’s illicit activities to account.