Arrest of Mukhtar Ansari’s son Umar sparks political row, SP cries foul, BJP says law taking its course
Umar Ansari is accused of forging the signatures of his mother Afsha Ansari, on whom there is a ₹50,000 bounty, and submitting it to the court to reclaim his father’s attached property
The arrest of deceased mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari’s younger son Umar Ansari from Lucknow in a forgery case on Sunday night sparked a political controversy with the Samajwadi Party alleging that Umar was taken into custody as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to affect the by-polls for the Mau Sadar assembly seat in eastern Uttar Pradesh and the BJP asserting that the law has taken its course and legal matters should not be politicised.
The Ghazipur police, which arrested Umar Ansari from the MLA residence at Darulshafa in Lucknow on Sunday night, produced him in court in Ghazipur on Monday morning. Umar is accused of forging the signatures of his mother Afsha Ansari, on whom there is a ₹50,000 bounty, and submitting it to the court to reclaim his family’s ₹10 crore attached property. The property was related to Mukhtar Ansari, the former head of the IS (Inter State) 191 gang, according to the police.
The Mau Sadar seat had fallen vacant after the conviction of Umar Ansari’s elder brother Abbas Ansari by a special MP-MLA Court in Mau in a hate speech case on May 31.
Abbas’s father Mukhtar Ansari represented the Mau Sadar assembly seat five times, from 1996 to 2017. Mukhtar did not contest the 2022 polls and died two years later on March 28, 2024 at the Banda Medical College hospital in Uttar Pradesh. He had been in Banda jail prior to his death.
The Allahabad high court on July 30 reserved its judgment on a petition filed by Abbas Ansari challenging the order of the Mau court that had rejected his application for a stay on his conviction in the hate speech case.
“As far as we can understand, it is clear that Abbas Ansari has been framed. Muslims MLAs were the target of this government. Azam Khan and his entire family were targeted. Now, when the decision regarding membership of Abbas Ansari in the UP assembly is about to be given, then his younger brother Umar Ansari has been arrested. The government wants that no one from his family should be able to contest the by-election,” SP spokesperson Ameeque Jamei said.
“An FIR is registered against Umar at 6pm and by 9pm he is arrested. Meanwhile, some mafias are roaming freely in Purvanchal, the STF and police are unable to see them. But Umar is arrested in a fake signature case. We want to ask if the accused has no right to go to the court and secondly did the court take notice of the alleged fake sign? Is there any report by FSL (forensic science laboratory) which proves the sign is fake? This is an attempt to put all the members of the Ansari family behind bars by misusing administrative powers,” the SP spokesperson said.
Abbas Ansari had won the Mau Sadar assembly seat on a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party ticket as the OP Rajbhar-led party had contested 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in alliance with the SP. Rajbhar later left the SP camp and joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to become a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government.
“SBSP chief and minister OP Rajbhar should take a stand for his MLA, instead of trying to create a communal divide in the society,” Jamei said.
UP BJP vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, “In Umar Ansari’s arrest, the law has taken its own course. All due legal process was followed before arresting Umar Ansari. It is a case related to presenting forged documents in court. Legal matters should not be politicised.”
According to police, Umar Ansari filed a petition in court with a forged affidavit to seek release of the property that was attached under the UP Gangster Act.
When the Ghazipur police came to know about the forgery, the Mohammadabad police registered a case against Umar Ansari and his lawyer Liaquat Ali. Mukhtar Ansari’s wife, Afsha Ansari, is still at large.
According to a statement issued by the superintendent of police, Ghazipur, the properties were seized under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act.
It is alleged that Umar Ansari intended to secure illegal gains and submitted forged documents reportedly bearing the fake signatures of his mother, Afshan Ansari, in the court, the statement said. Afshan Ansari is currently absconding and carries a reward of ₹50,000 on her head.
“Upon learning of the fraudulent activity, a case was registered against Umar Ansari at the Mohammadabad police station, with charges filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” read the statement.
The Supreme Court had granted interim bail to Abbas Ansari on March 7, 2025 in a case under the Gangsters Act. Over two months later, he was sentenced to two years in prison in a hate speech case related to Mau in May, resulting in his disqualification from the state assembly.
The case in which Abbas Ansari was convicted stems from a speech delivered during the 2022 assembly election campaign in Mau.
On July 5, 2025, a local court in Mau upheld the conviction of Abbas Ansari in the hate speech case but allowed further hearings on his plea specifically challenging the quantum of the two-year sentence initially awarded.
The court also granted Ansari interim bail on a bond of ₹50,000 and stayed his sentence, but maintained his conviction.
ARREST BASED ON INVESTIGATION, EVIDENCE: DGP
Responding to a media query, director general of police Rajeev Krishna confirmed that Umar Ansari was taken into custody from Lucknow on Sunday night in connection with a case registered in Ghazipur.
“The arrest has been made based on investigation and available evidence,” he said.
Emphasising the due legal process, Krishna stated, “There are clear directives from the Supreme Court, the high court, and the law itself. Our role as a police force is to ensure that any action taken is backed by solid evidence that can stand up in court.”
He stressed that all police efforts must be carried out within the framework of the law to maintain the integrity of the judicial process.
