Is it the end of the road for Sandip Ghosh? Sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have told CNN-News18 that the former RG Kar Hospital principal’s answers are changing with every round of questioning, even as the agency races against time to establish the sequence of events after a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found raped and murdered on the institute’s premises.
The sources added that Ghosh’s sustained questioning is to ascertain what really happened after the crime was discovered amid allegations that the authorities tried to cover up the incident by telling the student’s parents that she had died by suicide.
This, however, does not seem to be the end of troubles for Ghosh who resigned from RG Kar on August 12 amidst allegations of a racket being run from the hospital. On Tuesday, police registered a case against the former principal for cheating, conspiracy and financial irregularities after a complaint from special commissioner, health.
Tuesday is the fifth day Ghosh will be questioned by the CBI. The agency has, so far, questioned over 30 people, including doctors, PG students, HoDs, and staff members. On Friday night, security guards, ward boys and nurses were summoned.
The agency is also looking into allegations by the victim’s family that she was under pressure at RG Kar. The CBI wants Ghosh to answer if he was aware of why the victim was feeling pressured and if there was any complaint made to the college authorities regarding the same.
Security for doctors and patients, use of the seminar hall — where the crime happened — and overall management of the hospital are all queries that the CBI team is seeking answers to. Ghosh’s call records and chat details are also being investigated.
On Monday, the CBI team asked Ghosh to specify his role after getting the news of the doctor’s death, who he had contacted thereafter and why he made the parents wait for nearly three hours before getting to see her body, an agency official said. The former principal was also questioned on who had ordered renovation of rooms adjacent to the seminar hall, after the postgraduate trainee’s body was found there on August 9, he said.
HEAT ON GHOSH
Ghosh hit headlines when he was appointed the principal of National Medical College, just four hours after his resignation from RG Kar, inviting the wrath of the Calcutta High Court.
The move to transfer Ghosh had put Mamata Banerjee’s government on the backfoot, with women — staunch supporters of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — being up in arms over the rape-murder and the police handling of the case.
The RG Kar horror brought the spotlight on the former principal, revealing a string of his transfers and transfer reversals. Months after his joining, RG Kar saw protests by over 350 students against the college authorities’ reluctance to form two separate councils for students and hostels respectively. The students had protested by holding a hunger strike outside Ghosh’s office.
As per reports dated January 2023, Dr Ghosh and RG Kar medical college found themselves in another controversy, where it was alleged that the bodies coming in for autopsy were being used for “dissection practicals” without any prior consent from the parents of the deceased, over which Dr Ghosh promised an internal enquiry.
On May 31, 2023, the Government of West Bengal issued an order replacing Dr Sandip Ghosh with one Dr Sanath Ghosh, to become the new Principal at RG Kar. However, reports state that Dr Sanath, couldn’t take charge of his new responsibility as he found the Principal cabin locked from outside, allegedly by Dr Sandip Ghosh. In over 24 hours, this transfer order was reversed and Dr Sandip Ghosh remained the principal.
On Monday, the West Bengal government announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of financial irregularities at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital since 2021 when it was under the supervision of Ghosh.
However, the BJP termed the step “Mamata Banerjee’s move to save Ghosh”, with the party’s media cell in-charge and spokesperson Amit Malviya taking to X to say: “Now, WB Govt constitutes a SIT to probe allegations of financial irregularities by Dr Sandeep Ghosh, the disgraced Principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital. 4 IPS officers are part of the SIT. How are police officers equipped to investigate financial crimes?”
TRACKING CBI
On Monday evening, a team of CBI officers visited the RG Kar Hospital to take a closer look at its Trauma Care Unit, and also collected samples.
CBI sleuths also grilled arrested accused Sanjay Roy as the probe agency tries to ascertain whether he was alone while allegedly committing the crime. Apart from this, the investigators went to the Kolkata Police’s headquarters at Lalbazar and spoke to officers who were part of the investigation when they were probing the matter, an official said.
Meanwhile, a local court granted CBI permission to conduct a polygraph test on Roy. The CBI is yet to schedule a date for the test. As per norms, the accused has to be brought before a magistrate, who will ask the person if he agrees to a polygraph test, the official added.
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