Ex Shooter Of Dreaded Mukhtar Ansari Gang Shot Dead, 15 Bullets Fired At Car

A former shooter associated with the gang of Mukhtar Ansari has been shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district.

Shoaib alias Bobby, who had previously been linked to Ansari's criminal network and was an accused in the 1999 murder of Lucknow jailer RK Tiwari, was fired upon while travelling from Barabanki to Lucknow. The shooting took place in the Asaini area. According to police, a total of 15 rounds were fired at his vehicle.

The firing continued for approximately ten minutes. Witness accounts cited by local authorities indicate that the attack unfolded in full public view, triggering panic in the area. Residents reported hearing repeated gunshots as the vehicle came under sustained fire. Police officials say the scale of the assault and the number of rounds discharged suggest the involvement of multiple attackers.

Shoaib Bobby had been identified as a shooter for the Ansari gang.

Mukhtar Ansari, aged 63 at the time of his death, had been booked in 65 criminal cases over the years, ranging from murder to extortion. Despite this record, he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly five times on tickets from different political parties. Born in 1963 into an influential family, Ansari entered the world of organised crime during a period when government contract mafias were flourishing in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

From 2005 until his death, Ansari remained lodged in different jails in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. 

Ansari died of cardiac arrest after being hospitalised in 2024. A medical bulletin issued in Hindi stated that he was taken from jail in Banda to the Rani Durgavati Medical College at around 8.25 pm after complaining of vomiting and being found unconscious.