In a significant legal development, an FIR has been registered against Ghazipur Member of Parliament Afzal Ansari and two former government clerks under the Arms Act and various sections of the penal code. The charges stem from the mysterious disappearance of a rifle and its associated license records from the District Magistrate's office. This discovery was made during an extensive police investigation into the weapon licenses held by members and associates of the notorious IS-191 gang, which was led by the late mafia don Mukhtar Ansari.
Massive Verification Drive Across Four States
The case against the parliamentarian is the direct result of a massive arms verification drive initiated by senior police officials. The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for the Varanasi range had recently issued strict directives to investigate the organized crime networks and mafia syndicates operating in the region. Following these orders, special teams comprising jurisdictional officers and Station House Officers (SHOs) were constituted. Their primary mandate was to conduct physical verifications of all weapons issued to Mukhtar Ansari, his family members, and known associates.
The scope of this investigation was vast, covering the purchase and sale of one hundred and forty-five weapons linked to fifty-one arms licenses associated with the IS-191 gang. To ensure a thorough probe, police teams traveled across multiple states, conducting verifications in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, and Arunachal Pradesh. It was during this exhaustive cross-state scrutiny that massive irregularities in the issuance and maintenance of arms licenses began to surface.
Missing Files and the Untraceable Rifle
As investigators delved into the records at the Ghazipur District Magistrate's office, they uncovered a disturbing pattern of missing original files. According to the police, the core documents pertaining to several bought and sold weapons simply did not exist in the official archives. Among these missing records was the file for arms license number 1188 P2, which had been issued in the name of MP Afzal Ansari.
The absence of the license file was only part of the problem. Investigators found that a rifle, bearing the serial number 830405, had been purchased using this very license. Despite extensive searches and inquiries, the police have been completely unable to trace the current physical location or status of this specific firearm. The inability to account for a high-caliber weapon registered to a sitting Member of Parliament prompted immediate legal action by the authorities.
Collusion and Criminal Charges
Ghazipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr. Iraj Raja confirmed that the investigation exposed deep-rooted collusion between weapon holders and the clerical staff responsible for maintaining the records. The FIR, filed at the Sadar Kotwali police station in Ghazipur, names three primary accused. Alongside Afzal Ansari, the police have booked the then-first arms clerk, Ashfaq Ahmed, and the second arms clerk, Gauri Shankar Ram, holding them responsible for the disappearance of the official government files.
The accused have been charged under severe sections of the law. These include Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Furthermore, stringent sections of the Arms Act, specifically Sections 21, 25, and 30, have been applied. SP Dr. Iraj Raja stated that legal proceedings are currently underway based on the evidence gathered during the physical verification process.
Ongoing Scrutiny and Past Controversies
This latest FIR adds to a growing list of legal challenges faced by the Ghazipur MP, whose family and associates have been under intense administrative and police scrutiny for years. The authorities are actively trying to dismantle the remnants of the IS-191 gang's infrastructure, particularly their access to licensed firearms, which were often allegedly used to exert influence and maintain dominance in the region.
Afzal Ansari has frequently found himself at odds with the local administration and police force. Earlier this year, in January, a major controversy erupted when the MP was involved in a heated, public argument with police officials. The confrontation took place on a national highway after his vehicle was stopped by the authorities. With the registration of this new Arms Act case, the legal pressure on the parliamentarian has intensified, raising questions about the whereabouts of the missing rifle and the integrity of the district's arms licensing records.
