Who was Krishnanand Rai? Why was Mukhtar Ansari blamed for his murder?

Krishnanand Rai, who served as a Member of Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2005 represented Mohammadabad Assembly in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.  Rai began his career as a contractor and became a well-known builder in Varanasi. His initial work included government-funded roads and bridges but later he moved towards construction of residential buildings.

On 29 November 2005, Rai was murdered while attending a family wedding. He was ambushed on his way back home by assailants who used AK-47 rifles. Seven people died in total. Back then, senior BJP leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh and Manoj Sinha demanded a CBI inquiry but the government initially rejected their calls for fear of being indicted.

The First Information Reports (FIR) was filed against Mukhtar and Afzal Ansari but Bhajani Ram Meena, the police superintendent appointed to investigate, then left the case. He alleged undue pressure. After six months, the CBCID also surrendered the case, complaining of pressure and recommending transfer of the case to the local police.

The wife of Krishnananda Rai filed a writ in Allahabad High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the killing of her husband. The writ petition in Allahabad High Court by Alka Rai provides detail of thirty criminal cases against the Ansari brothers. The Court ordered a CBI inquiry in May 2006.

But on July 3, a CBI Special Court in Delhi acquitted all accused, including ex-MLA Mukhtar Ansari, in connection with the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai. Ansari's brother Afzal Ansari, who was also an accused, has also been acquitted in the case. Afzal is currently an MP from Ghazipur.

The other accused in this case were Sanjeev Maheshwari, Aijazul Haque, Rakesh Pandey, Ramu Mallah and Munna Bajrangi. It is to be noted that Munna Bajrangi was killed inside Baghpat Jail in 2018.