The CBI has registered an FIR against former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, state Congress president Sachin Pilot, P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram, Vayalar Ravi’s son Ravi Krishna and others in the alleged ‘108 ambulance scam’. According to the CBI, Pilot, Karti and Ravi served as directors of Ziquitza Health Care Ltd (ZHCL), which was awarded the contract for the scheme under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). ALSO READ: Never been involved in administration of Ziqitza: Karthi Chidambaram The FIR also names former Rajasthan health minister Duru Miya, a former director of NRHM Rajasthan, former director of ZHCL Sweta Mangal, and Shaffi Mather, former economic advisor to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. “The CBI has registered a case on the request of the Rajasthan government and further directions from the Government of India.,” the agency said in a statement. “The said FIR was registered against then directors of (a) private firm at Mumbai/Jaipur and others, including public servants, under sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC on allegations of irregularities in the award of the tender by deliberately inserting technical specifications, and irregularities in the implementation of the project, which included excess bills claimed by the said firm and paid to them,” it added. On Friday, the CBI conducted searches at the offices of ZHCL in Mumbai and Jaipur. Both Pilot and Gehlot said the CBI action was driven by “vendetta”. “This action is on the prodding of the Raje government and is nothing but a meek, vendetta-driven malicious prosecution. They had been investigating this matter for the past few years and have been not been able to make any headway. Their attempt to embroil me in this matter is purely a fabrication. I hope the investigations are done swiftly and transparently,” Pilot told The Indian Express. “It’s time the Raje government stopped going after political opponents and adopted a moral stand in their governance,” he added. Gehlot said the CBI action was a ploy by the Raje government to take people’s attention away from various charges levelled against her and her son Dushyant Singh. “If the CM has courage, let her get the charges levelled against her also probed by the CBI. That will be fair. These politically motivated actions will not help her in any way,” Gehlot told The Indian Express. The original complaint, which was being probed by the Crime Branch — Criminal Investigation Department of the Rajasthan Police — was lodged by former Jaipur Mayor Pankaj Joshi. Joshi had alleged irregularities worth Rs 2.56 crore in the operation of the 108 ambulance service under the NRHM. The service was introduced by the Vasundhara Raje government in 2008 with a contract to GVK group’s non-profit organisation EMRI. But after coming to power, the Congress government led by Gehlot scrapped the deal and awarded a fresh contract to ZHLC. The Raje government had recommended a CBI probe in the alleged scam last year.
