The Uttar Pradesh police chief has ordered the arrest of independent MLA from Mau, Mukhtar Ansari, for alleged involvement in recent communal riots.

A case of murder and rioting has been registered against him. Director General of Police Yaspal Singh ordered the MLA's arrest during his visit to riot-affected areas of Mau yesterday. This is his second visit to Mau since the riots flared.

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has announced an inquiry into the role of Ansari in the communal riots and has directed the DGP and the principal home secretary, Alok Sinha, to submit a report about his role during riots.

Ansari demanded a CBI probe of the communal riots. He appears in police records as leader of a criminal gang. The gang has been allegedly active since 1988 and has 21 pending criminal cases against it. Ansari was a convict under the now defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act and was shifted to Lucknow jail in 2003 from Tihar.

The chief minister ordered constitution of another three-member high-level committee headed by Neera Yadav, the chairperson of the Board of Revenue, to probe the riots. Mulayam Singh has asked Yadav to submit her report within three weeks. He made it clear he would not spare any one whether he is a public representative or a political leader.