Lucknow, Apr 1 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred many mafias from one jail to another following complaints that they were lording over in prisons, conducting anti-social and criminal activities from even inside the jails.

An official while informing of the development told IANS on Saturday that mafia don turned politician Mukhtaar Ansari has been sent from Lucknow to Banda jail. Five sharp shooters have also been sent from one prison to another.

Former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ateeq Ahmad who is named in many criminal cases ranging from murder to extortion and is languishing in Allahabad prison has also been shifted out to Deoria jail.

Umesh aka Goa Rai has been moved out from the Banda prison to Rampur, Kaushlesh Tripathi to Basti jail, Shailendra aka Shailu to Deoria, Dilip Raidas from Banda to Lakhimpur Kheri and Alam Singh to Bijnore. Sachin Pandey who is in Sultanpur has also been shifted to the Bijnore prison.

Officials of the prison department informed that the rejig had been initiated to "break the spine of organised criminals" who were allegedly running their criminal empire from behind the prison walls.

The BJP during their campaign for the state assembly polls had raised this issue many a times and had promised a turn around.