UP Police seizes jailed ex-MLA Vijay Mishra’s pulse mill in Maharashtra under Gangsters Act

Bhadohi (UP), Jul 16 (PTI) In a first-of-its-kind interstate crackdown under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, the state police has attached a commercial property valued at more than Rs 100 crore in Maharashtra linked to jailed gangster-turned-politician and four-time Gyanpur MLA Vijay Mishra, officials said. Police have so far attached properties worth Rs 241 crore linked to Mishra since 2022, a senior police official said. The property – a pulse mill operating under the banner of 'Lalli Agro Industries' at Jakekur village in Maharashtra's Dharashiv district – was attached earlier this month by a special team of Bhadohi police in coordination with the Maharashtra Police and local revenue authorities. Bhadohi SP Abhinav Tyagi said the asset, worth about Rs 100.25 crore, was officially sealed and taken into possession on July 7 following an order issued by Bhadohi District Magistrate Shailesh Kumar on July 2. According to police, the mill in the name of Mishra’s son-in-law, Mukesh Tiwari, was set up 15 years ago using illicit proceeds of organised crime generated by Mishra, his wife Ram Lali, and their son Vishnu. Mishra, his wife and son were sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment each, while his daughter-in-law had been sentenced to four years in jail. According to officials, it was for the first time that the UP Gangsters Act was used to seize high-value properties beyond the state’s boundaries. Mishra faces 87 criminal cases, including murder, extortion, and an infamous 2010 remote-controlled bomb attack on then state minister Nand Gopal Gupta. Mishra won the Gyanpur Assembly seat three times on Samajwadi Party ticket – in 2002, 2007 and 2012 – and once as a Nishad Party nominee in 2017. PTI COR ABN ARI