Umar Ansari arrest: How did Ghazipur police foil his attempt to reclaim confiscated land?
Umar Ansari, son of the late gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was arrested on Sunday in Lucknow for allegedly submitting forged documents to a Ghazipur court in a bid to recover his father's properties, which had been seized under anti-gangster laws. A case has also been registered against his lawyer, Liaquat Ali.
According to the Ghazipur police, Umar began the process earlier this year by preparing false documents aimed at reclaiming real estate confiscated under Section 14(1) of the Gangsters Act.
One of the properties for which Umar had filed a reclamation appeal was Afshan Ansari's property worth about ten crores, which was confiscated in 2021, as per a Jagran report.
These included a forged affidavit allegedly signed by his mother, Afshan Ansari, who has been absconding since 2023 in order to avoid arrest in land-related cases, and carries a ₹50,000 police bounty.
In early July, Umar submitted a petition to the Mohammadabad Tehsil Court in Ghazipur, claiming that the seized properties should be returned.
Alarm bells rang in late July when court staff flagged irregularities in the documentation.
A forensic comparison of signatures revealed that Afshan Ansari’s “consent” was fabricated. The investigation confirmed that Umar had attempted to mislead the judiciary by impersonating legal authorisation from a fugitive.
On August 3, an FIR was filed under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including cheating, criminal conspiracy, and forgery. Umar was picked up from Lucknow’s Darul Shafa complex and taken into custody.
This marks the sixth criminal case against Umar Ansari, whose family’s real estate empire has been under intense scrutiny since Mukhtar Ansari’s death.
India