Woman linked to Mukhtar Ansari’s gang arrested in land-grabbing, extortion case

“She was produced in court, which remanded her to judicial custody. She had been jailed earlier as well and was released on bail,” said Nand Kumar Tiwari, Station House Officer of Kasimabad police station.

He added that Nikhat is the wife of Riyaz Ahmed Ansari, the chairman of the Bahadurganj Nagar Panchayat.

According to police, the case in which Nikhat was wanted was registered in January this year. She, her husband and two others were booked for allegedly forcibly taking possession of land belonging to one Suraj Sonkar, a member of the Dalit community. The land was allegedly transferred in Riyaz’s name through threats and intimidation.

In his complaint, Suraj’s son, Subhash, claimed his father, out of fear, had never informed the family about the pressure he was facing. After Suraj’s death, Riyaz allegedly succeeded in getting the land transferred in his name. When Subhash learned of this, he confronted Riyaz and Nikhat on December 27, 2024, accusing them of manipulating the will and demanding the land back.

He alleged that Riyaz’s nephew Shakeel and brother-in-law Kamal Ahmed then arrived at the spot, and all four hurled casteist abuses at him. Shakeel and Kamal allegedly pushed him and threatened to kill him and his family if he pursued the matter or approached the police.

After the case was lodged, police began an investigation. Additional Superintendent of Police, Ghazipur, Atul Kumar Sonkar, said police arrested Riyaz and the two co-accused but Nikhat went on the run.

The case was registered on charges that include voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult aimed at provoking breach of peace, and criminal intimidation. Provisions of the SC/ST Act were also invoked, said police.

Mukhtar Ansari died in March last year after suffering a cardiac arrest in Banda jail, where he was lodged. A five-time MLA from the Mau constituency in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, the 63-year-old was convicted in eight cases. He was also a history-sheeter, with a total of 65 cases registered against him in various police stations across Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.