LUCKNOW: The mystery over the ambulance with a UP registration that was used to ferry jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail to Mohali court in Punjab turned murkier on Thursday after cabinet minister and government spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh said the ambulance is bullet-proof and owned by Mukhtar Ansari himself and questioned the role of Punjab government in the entire issue.
“A thorough probe will be conducted to find out how an ambulance is being used as a private vehicle by Mukhtar Ansari. It is a bullet-proof luxury vehicle,” he said. “It is now for the Punjab government to explain how a jail inmate was allowed to use a private vehicle to reach Mohali court for a hearing and brought back to Ropar jail. It is more than evident that the Congress government in Punjab is providing patronage to the gangster and twitter Rani Priyanka Gandhi should now explain this at least on twitter,” Singh said.
Singh said the registration papers of the ambulance show that vehicle was purchased in 2013 on documents found to be containing incorrect information. “How did the government at that time allow it …… at that time gangsters like Mukhtar were a part of the government,” he said adding that all aspects of the ambulance will be probed thoroughly and the guilty will be punished.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Alka Rai who is widow of former BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, has shot a letter to Additional Chief secretary (home) demanding a probe into the gangster Mukhtar Ansari being ferried in an ambulance which had a UP registration.
Investigations so far have revealed that Mukhtar had travelled from Ropar Jail to Mohali court in an ambulance which has a UP registration (UP 41 AT 7171). The vehicle was registered with the Barabanki ARTO. However, vehicle records reveal that it was purchased by Shyam Sanjeevni Hospital in Mau in 2013. A co-owner of the hospital Dr Alka Rai, who claims to be the general secretary of BJP Mahila wing (Gorakhpur region), confirmed that she had signed papers meant for purchase of the vehicle in 2013.
“In 2013, Mukhtar Ansari was the local MLA and wanted to provide the vehicle for helping the needy and poor in case of medical emergency. We did sign some papers and after that what happened I am not aware,” she said. Meanwhile registration details related to Barabanki district have been found incorrect.