Mukhtar Ansari tests positive in Banda jail

Kanpur: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was brought to Banda jail over two weeks ago, has tested positive for Covid-19 infection.
The jail authorities had conducted Covid-19 tests on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mau MLA Mukhtar Ansari and other inmates on Saturday.
Ansari’s antigen test report came on Sunday as positive. Two other inmates have also tested positive.
“Mukhtar Ansari is currently in isolation in the barrack.His antigen test report is positive. Now, we are waiting for his RT-PCR test report,” said DG Jail Anand Kumar.
Chief medical officer Banda Dr N D Sharma said, “Ansari’s condition is stable. We are in touch with jail doctors and the future course of his treatment would be decided as per medical inputs.”
Jail sources said Mukhtar, who is lodged in barrack no. 15 of Banda district jail, had on Friday evening told jail officials that he had fever, cough and cold, all symptoms of Covid-19.
Subsequently, a health team collected samples of Mukhtar as well as two other jail inmates on Saturday.
The jail authorities had also taken swab samples of 23 other inmates who had tested positive in antigen test for RTPCR, said Dr Sharma.
The CMO informed that till date, nearly 50 inmates of Banda jail had tested positive for novel coronavirus infection.
Ansari was brought back from Ropar jail in Punjab amid heavy security on April 7 on the directions of the Supreme Court covering a 900-km road journey in 14 hours and was lodged in Banda jail.
He has been attending hearings of cases against him in different courts through video-conferencing.
As a precautionary measure, Banda jail authorities have banned meetings of inmates with their relatives till further orders. Ansari is being guarded by three security personnel round-the-clock.
Ansari hails from Ghazipur district and is a history-sheeter in Mehmoodabad police station with 52 cases registered against him.
One of the cases against Ansari is the murder of MLA Krishna Nand Rai, who was killed in 2005.