Abbas Ansari, the legislator son of Mukhtar Ansari, will remain incarcerated as the Lucknow bench of the High Court has rejected his bail plea. The court denied bail following revelations of secret meetings with his wife, Nikhat, inside Chitrakoot jail. The order was passed by Justice Jaspreet Singh on Wednesday. Prior to this decision, the court had reserved its verdict on April 24 after hearing arguments from both Abbas Ansari’s and the state government’s lawyers.
In the case, both Nikhat and certain officials from Chitrakoot jail were also accused. Nikhat is currently out on bail following a Supreme Court order. After Mukhtar Ansari’s demise last month, Abbas was granted a three-day parole to attend the prayers at his father’s grave.
During this period, Mukhtar Ansari’s elder brother Afzal Ansari had expressed hope that Abbas would soon be released on bail, as only a few minor cases were pending against him. The rejection of the bail plea has been a significant blow to the family. Afzal Ansari is currently contesting from the Ghazipur seat, and was anticipating Abbas’s release to boost his campaign. Presently, Afzal’s daughter Nusrat is leading the campaign efforts.
Abbas Ansari is currently held at Kasganj jail, having been previously incarcerated at Chitrakoot jail. The case came to light following a raid by the district administration on February 11 last year, where Nikhat was discovered inside the jail meeting Abbas in the jailer’s room. This was shortly before the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the District Magistrate (DM) arrived at the scene.
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Nikhat was caught just after jail staff had removed Abbas from the room, which was locked from the outside. Foreign currency and a mobile phone were recovered from Nikhat. It was later revealed that Nikhat had been visiting Abbas in jail for months and staying with him for extended periods illegally.
