Bihar Police, on Tuesday, recovered country liquor from an ambulance donated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) from Saran constituency, Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The police have seized the ambulance which was being used for smuggling of liquor.
According to Saran Police, working on an intelligence input Bhagwan Bazar police station officials stopped the ambulance for checking and recovered illegal liquor.
“We had got a tip off that an ambulance donated by Saran MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy was being used to smuggle illegal country-made liquor. On receiving the input, a team was formed to check all vehicles entering and exiting our jurisdiction,” said a senior officer of the Bhagwan Bazar police station.
The officer further added, “During the checking we recovered around 280 liters of liquor from the ambulance. We arrested the driver of the vehicle and seized the ambulance.”
The driver of the ambulance during questioning told the police that the vehicle is being managed and run by a panchayat head. “According to the details provided by the driver, we are investigating the role of the panchayat head,” said Bhagwan Bazar Police Station officer-in-charge Mukesh Kumar Jha.
The officer-in-charge further added that the liquor bottles were packed in six gunny bags and hidden below the sheets of the ambulance.
An FIR against one Jaiprakash Singh, Kotwa Rampatti Panchayat head and the driver has been registered at the Bhagwan Bazar Police station.
The seized ambulance was purchased by Rajiv Pratap Rudy from the MPLAD fund in 2019. He had later handed over the vehicles to the panchayat heads so that patients could be transported to the nearest health facilities.
The opposition on several occasions has claimed that the ambulances procured under MPLAD fund are being misused. Former MP Pappu Yadav has been vocal against it. He earlier had said that the ambulances are being used for carrying out illegal activities.
