Lucknow: The mystery surrounding the ambulance bearing the registration number of Uttar Pradesh which was used to ferry actor-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail to Mohali court has turned murkier. In a new twist, it has been revealed that the ambulance was purchased using the MLA funds for the treatment of the poor and needy. Reports suggest that the vehicle is owned by Ansari himself and was a bullet-proof luxury vehicle.
A controversy erupted on Thursday when an ambulance from Uttar Pradesh was used to take Mukhtar Ansari to a court in Punjab from Ropar jail.
The ambulance with registration number UP41 AT 7171 that ferried Ansari to the court was registered with Barabanki ARTO of Uttar Pradesh and had expired in 2017. It has not been renewed since then. Also, the name of the hospital in which the ambulance was registered is dubious. The vehicle records reveal that the ambulance was purchased by Shyam Sanjeevani Hospital in Mau district.
READ: Row over ambulance for jailed lawmaker Ansari
The owner of Shyam Sanjeevani Hospital Alka Rai said, "In 2009, we had received a message that Ansari wanted to gift an ambulance to treat the poor and the needy. Ansari was an MLA from our constituency. Our hospital received some documents related to the ambulance which read that the vehicle will be used for the treatment of the poor and the needy. My brother had signed the documents. I don't know what happened after that."
Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh accused the Punjab government of providing patronage to Ansari and also questioned the silence of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
READ: Mukhtar Ansari produced before Punjab court in extortion case
Former Director-General AK Jain said that ambulances can be purchased using MLA funds only if there is a need to cure poor patients, adding that it the vehicle can neither be used for personal purpose nor can be modified. Jain also clarified that an ambulance can be brought under the name of a private or state-run government hospital.
The Punjab Police, on Wednesday, had produced Ansari before the court in connection with an alleged 2019 extortion matter. Mukhtar Ansari is charged with the murder of Alka Rai's husband Krishnanand Rai who was shot dead in 2005.
READ: Slain MLA's widow welcomes SC's decision of shifting Ansari
