Mumbai

Ambulance in name of Lashkar e Taiyaba terrorist Ishrat Jahan was inaugurated by communist leader Vrinda Karat in presence of foreign funded NGO operator Shabnam Hashmi, Ram Puniani, local NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad and leading journalists, said Rauf Lala to a TV channel in Mumbai today.

Lala who is associated with operation of this ambulance said legally no one can stop operating this ambulance which has been named after Ishrat Jahan, but we are taking legal opinion.

The ambulance has been named as ‘Shahid Ishrat Jahan’.

The report aired by a TV channel today said that the driver of this ambulance received 40 phone calls in a day from people who oppose ‘Shahid Ishrat Jahan’ title on ambulance.

Ishrat Jahan (19), resident of Muslims dominated Mumbra in neighbouring Thane district, was killed in an encounter in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004, along with three others, including two Pakistanis.

An NGO, My Mumbra Foundation, started an ambulance service named after her in 2011.

A month ago, David Headly, imprisoned in the US told a court in Mumbai that Ishrat was an LeT operative.

After that, Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena(MNA) threatened the driver of this ambulance objecting name of ambulance.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week said it was wrong to operate an ambulance service named after “LeT operative” Ishrat Jahan and it should be stopped.

“We will seek information. People running such ambulances should themselves stop the service,” Fadnavis had told reporters.

“It is wrong to operate an ambulance in the name of someone who was an LeT operative according to the evidence which is coming forth,” he said, replying to a question.

“They should realise that appeasing terrorists for votes is detrimental to the country’s interests,” the Chief Minister had said when asked about some NCP leaders supporting the ambulance service.

– DeshGujarat