CBI sources said that the agency took over the probe from Rajasthan Police after a formal notification was issued by the state and central <g data-gr-id="34">governments .</g> Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had asked the Centre last year to order a CBI probe into the scam.
Rajasthan Police's FIR, filed in June last year immediately after BJP returned to power in the state, has named Gehlot, Pilot, Ravi Krishna and Karthi <g data-gr-id="31">Chidmabaram</g>, sons of senior Congress leaders and former union ministers Vayalar Ravi and P Chidambaram, respectively. CBI came out with a brief statement saying the agency has registered a case against the directors of a private firm and public servants for alleged irregularities in the award of tender in favour of the firm by deliberately inserting technical specification.
The irregularities in the implementation of the project included excess bills claimed by the firm and paid to them and <g data-gr-id="30">an alleged financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 2.56 crore in operating the ambulance service during the previous Congress rule</g> was claimed by the police.
The Rajasthan Police, which also named officials of Ziqitza Healthcare, had filed the FIR on the basis of a probe into a complaint filed by former Jaipur Mayor Pankaj Joshi.
CID-CB was investigating the case in which besides these names, former state Health Minister A A Khan, Sweta Mangal, the then CEO of <g data-gr-id="26">Ziquitza</g> Healthcare, Shaffi Mather, former Economic Advisor to Kerala CM Oommen Chandy and the NRHM Director were also named.
Gehlot, who was not immediately available for comments, had earlier said that the state government had failed to perform and the case was only to divert the attention of the people.
"When the FIR was lodged in June last year, it came to my knowledge that the officers were being pressurised to act in this manner," he had said earlier.
Pilot, who is the state Congress chief, had earlier charged that the case was an attempt by the BJP
government to malign Congress leaders and had demanded that a probe should be carried out by a Commission of Enquiry headed by a judge.
CBI’s FIR vendetta-driven prosecution: Sachin Pilot
Rajasthan Congress Chief Sachin Pilot on Friday termed the action of CBI of lodging a fresh FIR against him, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and other Congress leaders in ambulance scam as a "meek, vendetta-driven malicious prosecution." Gehlot also charged that the case was politically motivated and an attempt by Raje government to divert <g data-gr-id="48">attention</g> of people. "Can Raje and her son Dushyant get their allegation probed by CBI," he said.