Kolkata Doc’s Rape & Murder: Day After Crime, Ex-RG Kar Principal Ordered Renovation In Hospital

Kolkata: Troubles are mounting by the day for Sandip Ghosh, the ex-principal of RG Kar Medical & Hospital where a junior doctor was raped and murdered on August 9.

Ghosh, whose role is under scanner for the way hospital authorities handled the situation after the 31-year-old trainee doctor’s body was found in a semi-naked state, is currently in the custody of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which arrested him on Monday on charges of financial irregularities during his tenure at the hospital.

On Thursday, a letter written by Ghosh on August 10 went viral on social media after Union minister and BJP’s West Bengal chief Sukanta Majumdar shared it on his X handle.

The order, signed by Sandip Ghosh, former director of RG Kar Medical College, is dated August 10, just one day after the victim’s death. Despite allegations from colleagues and protesters about tampering with the crime scene, the Police Commissioner denied it. @CBIHeadquarters pic.twitter.com/FEOirTn0ho

— Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) September 5, 2024

Written a day after the horrific crime, the letter reveals that Ghosh ordered repair, renovation and reconstruction of on-duty doctors’ rooms in all departments of the hospital.

“I would like to inform you that there are deficiency of on-duty doctors’ rooms and separate attached toilets in various departments of RG Kar Hospital. You are hereby requested to do the needful immediately as per demand of resident doctors of RG Kar Hospital,” stated the letter addressed to the Executive Engineers of PWD Civil and PWD Electrical.

There was a furore over the construction work last month as some alleged that a part of the seminar room – where the trainee doctor’s body was found — was being reconstructed to tamper with evidence.

The hospital administration later clarified that the video which showed construction work was from another room in the same corridor as the seminar hall. The work was then stopped.

The Calcutta High Court also questioned the West Bengal government over its “urgency” to renovate portions near the crime scene.

“Is it so important to provide a restroom within 12 hours to meet urgency? You go to any district court complex, see if ladies have any restrooms. I say this with responsibility. What has the PWD done? See the condition of the restrooms in the court complexes,” Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said.

The state government’s counsel refuted allegations that renovation was ordered to destroy evidence, arguing that demolition work was not near the crime scene.