Mukhtar Ansari straddled the worlds of crime and politics in Uttar Pradesh. The gangster-politician was booked in 65 criminal cases ranging from murder to extortion and was elected an MLA five times on the tickets of different political parties.
Mr. Ansari, 63, died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Banda on Thursday.
Born into an influential family in 1963, Mr. Ansari entered the world of crime to establish himself and his gang in the government contract mafia that was then flourishing in the State.