Varanasi: Hours after the UP Police took custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari and left Punjab to bring him back to the state, Uttar Pradesh Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel, seeking to restore the security cover of Ajay Rai, former party MLA from Varanasi who had contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

According to the Congress, the security has been demanded citing threat to Rai’s life as he is the prime witness in the murder case of his brother, Awadhesh Rai, in which Ansari is the accused. The case is still going on in the MP/MLA court in Allahabad. However, Lallu did not mention Ansari’s name in the letter. Lallu has written that if political reasons pose a threat to the life of a political person like Rai, then his security is the responsibility of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister who is also the head of state. Varanasi police had in February withdrawn the security of the former MLA from Pindra and Kolasla even when Rai had paid for the security, the letter added.

It may be mentioned that Rai had also written to the CM seeking his security cover in February. Lallu alleged that while no action has been taken on his request, even the remaining security of Rai has been withdrawn now. He wrote, “As Ajay Rai is a significant witness in the much talked about murder of his brother and is an important link in getting the criminals punished, thus there is a constant threat to his life from criminals.”

Meanwhile, speaking to The Indian Express, Rai alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was rather supporting Ansari. He said the government could not even secure witnesses in Krishnanada Rai murder case. “There is constant threat to my life from Mukhtar Ansari even when he was in Punjab or has been brought to UP. The government is supporting him and is trying to build a pressure on me to break me, but I will not succumb to the withdrawal of my security. They have even withdrawn my security as a former MLA,” Rai told The Indian Express.

He added that his brother was murdered in August 1991 and Ansari is an accused in the case. “Ajay Rai is a five-time MLA and to provide him security is the responsibility of the government. But just because he had contested against the Prime Minister, his security has been withdrawn out of vengeance,” Lallu told The Indian Express.

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