Nearly 400 kilometers away from Banda, in Yusufpur Mohammadabad, Ghazipur district, people in the ancestral town of Mukhtar Ansari anxiously await his mortal remains. Ghazipur town, however, is heavily fortified, with tight security and markets closed. Ansari’s family left Banda with his remains on Friday afternoon and a grave has been prepared near his parents’ burial place. The entire township is deserted and several markets along the Ghazipur-Mohammadabad-Ballia road are also shut.