Buxar:An FIR has been filed against ETV Bharat reporter Umesh Pandey by BJP leader Parshuram Chaturvedi on Friday in connection with a news report highlighting the alleged 'repeat' inaugurations of government ambulances in Buxar.
Pandey has been booked under Section 500, 506, 290, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and the complaint has been registered at Sadar police station in Buxar district.
Chaturvedi has made serious allegations against Umesh Pandey, including bullying, defaming Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey and tarnishing BJP's image.
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The move comes after ETV Bharat published a news reportwhich said that Ashwini Choubey on May 15 would virtually inaugurate five old ambulances by putting new stickers on them.
The news triggered a political uproar in the state after it was revealed that those ambulances were inaugurated for the fourth time after they were commissioned.
Although this reporter tried to contact Minister Choubey multiple times to get his comment, the calls remained unanswered.
A new twist emerged when ETV Bharat revealed that those ambulances were not even registered by the road transport authority in the state. Buxar District Transport Officer Manoj Rajak cited Supreme Court's order banning the registration of BS-4 model vehicles in August 2020 for not registering the ambulances.
"In the unregistered vehicles meet with accident, criminal cases will initiated against the promoters of the organisation that operated it. Based on statements more people will be booked and the vehicle will be seized if found running on the road," Rajak had told.
All these statements were compiled into a report and published by ETV Bharat. However, Buxar District Transport Officer later changed his statement and said that the BS-4 model ambulances could not be registered due to an outdated software and that the transport department are in talks with the health department.
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The series of news reports published in ETV Bharat led to the FIR against this reporter.
According to reports, these 102 ambulances were first inaugurated at Sadar hospital then at Buxar Kila Maidan under the name of 'Doctor at your doorstep'.
The third time they were inaugurated at Ramgarh in Kaimur and then at Collectorate Auditorium under the name of 'Maharishi Vishwamitra Mobile Vehicle'.
Many opposition leaders reacted to the incident with Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav slamming Ashwini Choubey by saying that the minister brings all the ambulances to Buxar only for their inauguration and then takes them away to bring them back again for inauguration next year.
On the other hand, Congress Sadar MLA Sanjay Tiwari said that Ashwini Choubey is responsible for all the Covid deaths as he has given ambulances to Dhanush Foundation and people were forced to carry patients to the hospitals on shoulders.
Meanwhile, targetting Tejashwi Yadav over his statement against Ashwini Choubey, BJP leader Parashuram Chaturvedi said that the RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Munna Tiwari do not know that Ashwini Choubey has launched medical mobile unit service and not inaugurated the ambulances.
The ambulances were inaugurated on May 15 for the first time. Before this date only a temporary inauguration was held in the public interest, said Rana Pratap Singh, former District President of BJP
However, RJD has strongly condemned the filing of an FIR against the ETV Bharat reporter in Buxar.
RJD state president Jagdanand Singh extended his support to Umesh Pandey by saying that ETV Bharat is fulfilling its role of creating awareness among people.
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"This is the same platform which raised the issue of floating bodies along the banks of river Ganges in Buxar. ETV Bharat was the one that highlighted the issue. FIR against the reporter is the state government's move to hide its mistakes. We all pledge to stand by your side," Jagdanand Singh said.
Note: ETV Bharat stands by its report on the issue.
