Poison or cardiac arrest: What killed Mukhtar Ansari?

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of a cardiac arrest and his family alleges that the gangster, who has been in jail since 2005, was poisoned.

Security has been tightened in several Uttar Pradesh towns after his death. Additional security personnel have been deployed in the Banda, Mau, Ghazipur and Varanasi districts. Moreover, prohibitory orders banning large gatherings have been imposed across the state, according to NDTV.

After he fell unconscious at a district jail on Thursday night, the jailed gangster was rushed to the hospital in Banda.

He was declared dead by the doctors at the Rani Durgavati Medical College a few hours later.

Mukhtar Ansari's son and his brother have demanded a probe as they believe he was poisoned while in jail, while the hospital says the cause of death was a cardiac arrest.

His son Umar Ansari told the media: "Two days ago I came to meet him, but I was not allowed. Despite being unwell, he was sent to jail. If the stomach was bloated then how could there be a heart attack? In the video that went viral, you can see that his stomach was bloated. His condition was serious. He was brought to be admitted to the ICU. But after 12-14 hours he was sent back to jail.”