HC Transfers SIT Probe Against Ex-RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh To CBI

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday transferred the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital against its former principal Sandip Ghosh to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Hearing a petition filed by former RG Kar deputy superintendent Akhtar Ali, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj ordered SIT to hand over all documents of the investigation to CBI by 10 am on Saturday.

The high court, which directed CBI to submit a report after three weeks, will next hear the case on September 17.

The SIT was set up by the West Bengal government to probe alleged corruption at the state-run hospital since January 2021, when Ghosh was the principal.

Ghosh has been under the scanner for the way the college administration and police handled the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital on August 9.

Even as the state government removed Ghosh from RG Kar and posted him at another state hospital, Akhtar Ali moved the high court seeking an investigation by Enforcement Directorate (ED) into corruption charges against Ghosh, who was twice transferred over such allegations but reinstated both times.

In July last year, Ali made a formal complaint to the state vigilance commission against Ghosh and two others. His letter highlighted several issues including alleged squandering of government money, illegal handing out government assets without approval, quotation amounts of crores of rupees given out to ineligible bidders, evasion of financial rules etc.

Ghosh was also accused of serious irregularities like “illegal selling of used hazardous biomedical wastes through his additional security personnel and misuse of COVID funds for creation of a gym and furnishing of office chambers”.

The BJP and other Opposition parties have alleged a strong nexus between Ghosh, Trinamool Congress leaders and government officials.

Even Santanu Sen, a TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, sought CBI probe into allegations against Ghosh.