Mukhtar Ansari’s viscera report rules out poisoning, brother questions findings

Officials in Uttar Pradesh have confirmed that no traces of poison were found in the viscera of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who died while serving his sentence in Banda jail last month.

The report’s findings contradict the claims made by Ansari’s family, that he was poisoned while in custody. The postmortem report had initially cited “myocardial refraction” or a heart attack as the cause of Ansari’s death on March 28. However, his family had insisted that Ansari was slowly poisoned in jail.

On Wednesday, officials said the report by the Forensic Science Lab had ruled out poisoning.

“We have received the Forensic Science Lab report confirming the absence of any poison in the viscera. This report has been handed over to the probe panel led by Banda Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate,” a senior officer was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Viscera refers to the internal organs such as the liver, spleen, stomach, and bladder.

Reacting to the report, Ansari’s brother Afzal, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Ghazipur on a Samajwadi Party ticket, expressed his mistrust in both the postmortem and viscera reports.

“We do not trust either the postmortem or the viscera reports. The correct sample of viscera was not sent for investigation,” Afzal said at a campaign event in Ghazipur, wearing a garland and addressing the crowd through a microphone.

Afzal further alleged that no nail or hair samples were taken for examination, which could have confirmed poisoning. He also accused the BJP government in UP of covering up its shortcomings.

“In any death, whether in the country or the state, the viscera report usually takes between six months to a year to come out. Here, it has come out in just one month,” he added.

He went on to question the credibility of the investigation, claiming that the sample sent for viscera analysis was not properly handled and that a different officer was assigned the task instead of the designated one.

Mukhtar Ansari, the five-time MLA from Uttar Pradesh’s Mau, had died last month while serving his sentence in jail. His brother, Afzal Ansari, had previously alleged that Mukhtar was poisoned slowly in jail. The postmortem report had later revealed cardiac arrest as the cause of death.