Mau,

31 May (HS): Abbas Ansari, a Mau MLA, was sentenced to two

years in prison on Saturday after a special MP/MLA court found him guilty of

hate speech in connection with the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Ansari, the son of imprisoned

gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, reportedly threatened government

officials during a public gathering before to the elections. Soon after the statements, a FIR was filed

against him and others. The Mau court

imposed the punishment after finding Ansari guilty of making offensive words

with the intent of intimidating authorities.

His brother, Mansoor Ansari, has also been sentenced in connection with

the crime. Ansari ran in the 2022 elections on a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party

(SBSP) ticket as part of the Samajwadi Party coalition.

It remains to be seen if the decision will result in disqualification

procedures under the Representation of the People Act, which prohibits

convicted MLAs sentenced to two years or more from holding office. Ansari is

accused of sharing the dais at a rally in Mau district in 2022, where his

brother reportedly threatened government officials with retaliation following

election results.

In March 2022, Mau Police charged the Ansari brothers under Sections 171F

(undue influence during an election) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the

Indian Penal Code. During the election campaign, a video of the speech became

popular on social media.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi