The untimely death of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari has added a new dimension to the politics at play in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the crucial general election.

The opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have demanded a high-level probe into the death.

Ansari’s family has also raised fingers at the ruling BJP and is planning to move court to know about the events leading up to his demise.

The jailed politician died at the Banda Medical College in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday following a cardiac arrest, its principal said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has hailed the end of the era of a notorious criminal who was involved in the killing of several politicians and others.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav has demanded that the matter be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. He said Uttar Pradesh is in the worst phase of government anarchy with no law and order.

Commenting on the episode in a social media post, Yadav said protecting someone’s life in every situation and at every place is the first responsibility and duty of the government. The death of a hostage or prisoner in any of the following circumstances will destroy public confidence in the judicial process, he added.

“All such suspicious cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. The way the government bypasses the judicial process and adopts other methods is completely illegal. A government which cannot protect life has no right to remain in power,” he said.

BSP supremo Mayawati too expressed grief over the death of Mukhtar Ansari. She demanded that the persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by the deceased’s family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the true facts can come out.

Echoing similar sentiments, former IPS Amitabh Thakur also demanded a probe into the matter.

Ansari, in a letter to the court, had claimed threat to his life in jail, and apprehended that he may be poisoned to death.

Omar Ansari, younger son of Mukhtar Asari, alleged that his family was not informed about the health condition of his father. He said they were informed only after his father’s death. He said he will approach the court to seek justice.

Mukhtar’s elder son Abbas Ansari is lodged in Kasganj jail, while his wife is absconding after an FIR was registered against her.

Mukhtar’s family also moved a petition in the Allahabad High Court on Friday to allow Abbas to attend his father’s funeral. But the issue was not taken up by the court. Now the family may next move the Supreme Court on the matter.

Meanwhile, Alka Rai, the wife of late BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, and son Piyush Rai reached Kashi Vishwanath temple and had darshan of Baba on Friday.

“Today is a very special day for us. I had full faith in Baba Vishwanath. I got justice because of Baba. We lost in court. It is the gift of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that I and my family have got justice,” she told reporters.

On Mukhtar’s family and opposition parties targeting the government over a conspiracy to kill the gangster-turned-politician, Alka said this is absolutely wrong.

“Opposition parties have to do appeasement politics. They need some issue to protest against, they are finding their religion in a criminal. I believe that this decision has come in this month of Ramzan, call it Allah’s justice or Baba’s justice,” she added.

In the 2002 assembly elections, BJP leader Krishnanand Rai had defeated Afzal Ansari from Mohammadabad. In 2004, Afzal won the Lok Sabha elections from Ghazipur. After this, on January 29, 2005, seven people, including Rai, were murdered near Basaniya Chatti by firing 500 rounds at them. A total of 67 bullets were recovered from the bodies of seven people killed in the massacre.

UP minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad said the opposition should wait for the postmortem report.

Sixty-five cases have been registered against Mukhtar Ansari in different districts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi. Of these, maximum 25 cases were registered in Ghazipur district. Of the 65 cases, 15 cases were related to murder charges. Mukhtar had been sentenced by the court in eight cases. At the same time, trials of 21 cases were going on in different courts.