Lucknow, Sept. 28 -- Properties worth Rs 24 crore linked to Reyaz Ahmad Ansari, a close aide of the deceased mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, have been confiscated by the Ghazipur police under the state government's zero tolerance policy against crime and criminals, informed senior police officials in a press note shared with the media by the state police headquarters here on Saturday. They said the action was taken under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, as part of a crackdown on organised crime. A senior police official further informed that Reyaz Ahmad Ansari, chairman of Bahadurganj Nagar Panchayat, has been accused of accumulating wealth through illicit means and layering it through various companies. He said the properties seized under the Gangster Act were allegedly purchased using proceeds of crime. He said the action was taken on the report sent by the inspector in charge of Kasimabad police station in Ghazipur, which was further recommended by Ghazipur Additional superintendent of police for action to the district magistrate, who in turn issued orders for confiscation of properties. He said Reyaz Ahmad Ansari has as many as eleven criminal cases registered against him, and some properties were purchased in the name of his close associate Parvez Zamal and his wife Yasmeen Zamal. Parvez Zamal also has a criminal background with around five criminal cases registered against him and is currently wanted in a Gangster Act case registered against him. He said this development is part of the Uttar Pradesh government's efforts to curb organised crime and target the networks of notorious gangsters. Earlier, Mukhtar Ansari's properties worth Rs 608 crore were confiscated and demolished....