Guwahati: The Assam unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) filed a FIR against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday alleging irregularities in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits in the state during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The party’s state chapter in Guwahati also conducted a protest demonstration against CM Sarma requesting that the Governor of Assam suspend him immediately.
According to reports, a formal complaint was made at the Latasil police station following the protest march.
On behalf of the AAP, state secretary Victor Gogoi filed a complaint alleging irregularities in the state government’s procurement of PPE kits in Assam during the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak.
He wrote in the complaint, “When Sarma was health minister of Assam in 2020, his wife’s company, JCB Industries, and his family associate’s company, Meditime Healthcare, got orders to procure PPE kits at the cost of Rs 990 apiece. This was despite the fact that the government had an option to buy kits at a cost of Rs 600 from other dealers.”
It further read, “Business partners of Sarma’s son also received an order from the government to provide PPE kits at a cost of Rs 990 per kit. A company owned by business partner of Sarma’s wife, Agile Associates, received an order to deliver 10,000 PPE kits at a cost of Rs 2,205 per kit.”
It needs to be noted that the complaint registered by AAP named CM Sarma, his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, Gyanasham Dhanuka and Rajib Bora among others.