Prayagraj: State govt will slap Gangsters Act against Samajwadi Party (SP) former MLA, his son and five others in connection with the Phaphamau cold storage collapse incident on March 23, 2026, that led to death of four labourers and left 12 others injured.Police also plan to attach their properties that have been accumulated through illegal means.A senior officer told TOI that “On the directives of Prayagraj police commissioner Jogendra Kumar, and as part of the ongoing special campaign against crime and criminals, action under the Gangsters Act will be initiated against ex-MLA Ansar Ahmed (owner of Adarsh Cold Storage), his son Manzoor Ahmed, and Alauddin, Jabir Ali alias Javed, Mohd Usman, Mohd Irfan and Mohd Aslam alias Baba.”He added that the action stems from case crime No. 44/2026 (registered at Phaphamau Police Station).The probe report into the incident revealed that the collapse was caused by the accused storing goods beyond capacity (violating safety standards for the sake of profiteering) and negligence.The cold storage, built on a 1,500sqm plot, was over 25-year-old and had a storage capacity of around 1.25 lakh sacks.
