Court grants 10 days custody parole to Mukhtar Ansari

New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) A court here has granted Uttar Pradesh legislator Mukhtar Ansari 10 days' custody parole for election campaigning, a lawyer said Thursday.

A sitting legislator from Mau constituency, Ansari is facing trial here under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly being a member of an organised crime syndicate run by co-accused Prem Prakash alias Munna Bajrangi.

Additional Sessions Judge Savita Rao Wednesday granted 10 days' custody parole to Ansari to enable him campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, observing that he was contesting from Ghosi constituency on a Quami Ekta Dal ticket.

Polling in Ghosi will take place May 12.

In the bail application moved by Ansari's counsel Deepak Sharma, it was stated that the legislator was granted custody parole even on earlier occasions and had never misused the liberty.

Ansari is facing various criminal cases, including one relating to the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Krishnanand Rai in 2005. The case was transferred from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi by a Supreme Court order.

The Delhi Police special cell had arrested Bajrangi in October 2009 for allegedly threatening Delhi businessman Ashok Tebriwal to extort Rs.1 crore.