When gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari enjoyed ‘VIP treatment’ in Punjab jail

Ansari was in Ropar jail for over two years from January 2019 to April 2021. He was brought to Punjab on January 22, 2019, on a transit remand after an extortion call was made to a Mohali-based realtor. A case under sections 386 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code for extortion and criminal conspiracy was registered against him at Mataur police station in Mohali.

Kuldeep Singh Chahal was the senior superintendent of police of Mohali then. The extortion call in which Rs 10 crore was demanded from the builder was traced from Bonda jail in UP. Ansari was kept in police custody for two days and later sent to Ropar jail on judicial remand. After that, he stayed in Ropar jail for over two years. Yogi Adityanath was the chief minister of UP at the time.

The file related to the fee was put up to CM Mann, who refused to order the finance department to pay Dave’s fees, and ordered recovery. The government then sent notices to Randhawa and Singh, to which they replied. Since then, however, no action has been taken.

Ansari was allegedly given VIP treatment in Punjab jail. This was established by an inquiry by Additional Director General of Police R N Dhoke ordered by former jails minister Harjot Bains after the AAP government took over. Dhoke stated that Ansari was given five-star treatment and some jail officials were hand in glove with him after taking bribes. His family stayed outside the jail for easy access and two of his aides were also in jail after they were booked in some cases, Dhoke said.

The police did not produce the challan in the FIR in the court. Ansari too did not apply for bail even after staying in Ropar jail for over two years. The inquiry also stated that he was patronised by some top politicians.

Ansari’s background also came under scrutiny. He is the relative of former vice-president Mohammad Hamid Ansari. His paternal grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was the president of the Indian National Congress and his maternal grandfather was Mohammad Usman, a brigadier killed in action during the Indo-Pak war. Almost 60 cases of land grab, murder and extortion were registered against him and he was in jail for over 15 years.

Ansari was shifted to UP in April 2021 following Supreme Court orders. The UP Police had issued warrants and written to Punjab at least 23 times. Finally, it moved the Supreme Court stating that Punjab was “shamelessly” retaining Ansari. It was after the Supreme Court’s orders that Ansari was sent back to Bonda jail in UP.

The file regarding the money owed to Dave made rounds of various functionaries of the Congress government but was never cleared. It stated that the fee of the lawyer was higher than that determined by the government.

During former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s tenure, the file moved from the then advocate general D S Patwalia to secretary (jails) D K Tewari to deputy chief minister-cum-jails minister Randhawa to the then chief secretary Anirudh Tewari, the finance department under K A P Sinha but no decision was taken on clearing it. The file was eventually sent to the superintendent of jails on January 31, 2022. The jails and home departments subsequently kept forwarding the file to the advocate general and chief minister.