The 63-year-old, five-term state legislator Mukhtar Ansari had been incarcerated since 2005.
His family disputes the facts surrounding his death, claiming that he was given a “poisonous substance” while incarcerated.
Following the announcement of Ansari’s passing, police increased security throughout the state as large crowds gathered outside his residence.
In the 1990s, Ansari was the leader of his own gang and faced over 60 criminal trials, fifteen of which were murder charges.
After entering politics, he won his first state election in 1996 in the Mau electorate, which was his home. He held the position of lawmaker till 2022.
He was found guilty in April 2023 of killing Krishnanand Rai, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and received a 10-year prison sentence.
Earlier this month, he was sentenced to life in prison for a 1990 case involving forged firearms licenses.
