Mukhtar Ansari's ambulance found abandoned on Manali road near Ropar
The ambulance which was used to ferry gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from a Punjab jail to a Mohali court recently was found abandoned on Manali road near Ropar. Teams of the Punjab police have rushed to seize the vehicle.
Earlier today, a special investigation team (SIT) was set up by the Uttar Pradesh police fo further probe into the issue of fake documents of the said ambulance. On April 2, a case was registered in Barabanki after the documents of the ambulance bearing UP registration number were found to be fake.
Wanted in Uttar Pradesh for various cases, Ansari, a BSP MLA from Mau was on March 31 produced before the Mohali court in connection with an alleged 2019 extortion matter. Ansari was taken to court in a wheelchair, amid tight security arrangements. He was sent back to Punjab's Rupnagar jail, where he is lodged since January 2019, in the ambulance after the appearance.
An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (forgery), 471 (fraudulently or dishonestly using documents as genuine), 467 (forgery of valuable security) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating).
The Supreme Court had recently directed the Punjab government to hand over the custody of Ansari to the Uttar Pradesh Police, saying it was being denied on trivial grounds under the guise of medical issues.
The apex court had also said that a convict or an undertrial prisoner, who disobeys the law of the land, cannot oppose his transfer from one prison to another and the courts are not to be helpless bystanders when the rule of law is being challenged with impunity.
The court had said the custody of Ansari, a BSP MLA from the Mau constituency, be handed over to Uttar Pradesh within two weeks so as to lodge him in Banda district jail in Uttar Pradesh.
READ MORE: Take custody of Mukhtar Ansari by April 8: Punjab to UP govt
