Around a month after Mukhtar Ansari’s death and claims that he was poisoned in prison, the Banda jail authorities said no such signs have been found in the viscera testing of the gangster-turned-politician.

The revelation has come following a court order to probe the circumstances leading to Ansari’s death. His family had alleged that he was given poison in his meals over time in jail.

The viscera report has been submitted in connection with the investigation. According to it, Ansari was not poisoned and he died after suffering a heart attack, as asserted by the police and jail authorities.

Ansari suffered a heart attack on the night of March 28 in the Banda jail and he was rushed to a government hospital where he succumbed.

On March 29, a judicial probe was ordered into his death after his family cried foul, claiming that the former MP was administered poison.

The allegation was echoed by several political leaders, including former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati.

The latest viscera report corroborates the findings of the post-mortem examination, which concluded that Mukhtar Ansari died of natural causes.

Despite the family’s claims of “slow poisoning,” the autopsy concluded that heart attack (myocardial infarction) was the cause of death.

The examination, conducted in the presence of Mukhtar Ansari’s youngest son Umar Ansari at Rani Durgavati Medical College, has provided clarity amidst the ongoing allegations.

Ansari was 63 years old at the time of death. A five-time MLA from Mau Sadar, he had served jail sentences in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab since 2005.

With over 60 pending criminal cases against him, he faced sentencing in eight cases from September 2022 by various courts in Uttar Pradesh. He spent his final days in the Banda jail.