Mukhtar Ansari attack case: Ex-MLC Brijesh Singh, 4 others walks free after 22-year legal battle in Lko Cantt gunfight

The MP/MLA court on Saturday acquitted former MLC Brijesh Singh and four others in the January 2004 Cantt firing case in Lucknow, citing lack of evidence and ending a 22-year-long legal battle.

Brijesh Singh was present in court when the verdict was pronounced. The case had drawn widespread attention after alleged face-off between the convoys of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari and BJP leader Krishnanand Rai led to indiscriminate firing at the Sadar railway crossing on January 13, 2004.

Apart from Brijesh Singh, the court acquitted Tribhuvan Singh, Sunil Rai, Anand Rai and Ajay Singh alias Guddu. FIRs were lodged by both sides; Ansari accused Rai and Brijesh Singh under charges including attempted murder and rioting, while Rai also filed a complaint against Ansari. Both Ansari and Rai are dead.

Notably, Krishnanand Rai was elected from the Mohammadabad Assembly constituency in Ghazipur in 2002, defeating Afzal Ansari, brother of Mukhtar Ansari. This defeat ended the long-held sway of the Ansari family over this seat.

Police investigated the incident and cases were registered from both sides. Over the years, several witnesses and pieces of evidence were presented, but the prosecution’s case allegedly weakened over time.

After prolonged hearings, the court observed that the charges could not be sufficiently proved and acquitted the accused.

Brijesh Singh, a resident of Dhaurahra village under Chaubepur police station in Varanasi, had earlier been linked to multiple criminal cases. His father Ravindra Nath Singh alias Bhullan Singh was murdered in 1984 in a land dispute. Following this, Brijesh Singh allegedly became involved in criminal activities, with his name surfacing in a 1985 murder case.

Over the years, 41 cases were registered against him across several states. He was arrested in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, in 2008. In an affidavit filed during the 2016 MLC elections, he declared 11 cases pending against him.