The Delhi CBI Special Court on Wednesday, 3 July, acquitted ex-MLA Mukhtar Ansari, his MP brother Afzal Ansari and five others in the murder case of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.
It was Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj who acquit all the accused in the case.
Ansari, who has been lodged in jail since 2005, has 50 criminal cases registered against him.
Later on, CBI charged Ansari with planning of the murder.
The Uttar Pradesh government will file an appeal against the CBI court order acquitting Ansari and aides, according to a senior state official.
The trial of the 2005 murder case was transferred from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi by the Supreme Court in 2013, on a plea filed by Alka Rai, wife of Krishnanand Rai.
The gangster-turned-politician, Ansari has been elected five times from the Mau Assembly constituency. His first victory came in 1996 when he fought on a BSP ticket. However, in 2010, Ansari was expelled by the party for involvement in criminal activities.
He then formed his own party, Quami Ekta Dal, with his brothers and won from the Mau seat in 2012 assembly elections.
Later, Ansari merged his party with BSP in 2017 and won the state elections as a BSP candidate.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, India TV)
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