ED registers case against Gehlot, Pilot, sons of senior Congress leaders
New Delhi: After the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate has now registered a criminal complaint in the Rajasthan ambulance scam case and booked former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC leader Sachin Pilot and sons of two former Union ministers on money laundering charges.
The agency has taken cognisance of the CBI FIR in this regard to register its case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has named Karthi Chidmabaram and Ravi Krishna, sons of senior Congress leaders and former Union ministers P Chidambaram and Vayalar Ravi respectively. The case dates back to July last year after BJP government came in power in the state.
Jaipur police had registered a criminal case on the complaint of city Mayor Pankaj Joshi. The CBI has alleged irregularities in the award of tender of ambulance services in favour of a firm Ziqitza Health Care by deliberately inserting technical specifications and irregularities in implementation of the project which included excess bills claimed by the firm and the payment allegedly directed to the accused.
The ED, taking cognisance of these facts, suspects that the kickbacks paid in this scam were laundered by some people and used to acquire tainted assets.
"The ED probe will identify the beneficiaries of tainted assets," they said, adding summonses are being issued to the accused.
The FIR registered by the state government had named Gehlot and "alleged directors" of the company Ziqitza Health Care, Pilot, Karthi, Krishna along with its director Sweta Mangal, the then Health Minister of the state Duru Mirza and the Director National Rural Health Mission.
Pilot, the state PCC President, has earlier called the CBI action a meek, vendetta-driven malicious prosecution while Gehlot too termed it a politically motivated action.
Pilot had said he had resigned from the company in late 2002 or early 2003 (before he became MP) when it decided to become a "for profit" company from the "non-profit" venture as he was associated with it only for social cause.
Karthi had said he was never been involved in the administration of the company. CBI has claimed that the period of the alleged crime is between 2010-13. It is alleged that ambulance service of 108 number was set up in erstwhile Vasundhara Raje government which was provided by a company EMR.
The complainant alleged that when Gehlot government was formed, they found alleged irregularities in the service and recommended that fresh tenders be called for plying ambulances in the state.
CBI had claimed that the terms of tenders were tweaked in such a way, making it mandatory for the ambulances to have GPS among others, that it favoured Ziqitza Health Care making it the sole bidder.
They said it is alleged that 450 such ambulances were put in service for 35 districts.
The sources said a complaint about alleged irregularities was made before the then Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad who ordered an inquiry by CAG which found irregularities in the filing of bills and deficiency in services.
When Raje government returned to power, a police complaint was filed before Jaipur police, they said, adding that the state government wrote asking CBI to take over the probe. ED has asked for additional documents to be shared with it by the state police.
