Kolkata:

Three flats, two houses and a farmhouse in Kolkata and another flat in Murshidabad — multiple properties belonging to Dr Sandip Ghosh, former Principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and his wife Sangeeta are under the scanner in the corruption probe against him.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is examining documents linked to these assets and digital devices as part of its investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the hospital, which came into focus in the aftermath of a 31-year-old doctor’s rape and murder on August 9.

The central agency suspects that Dr Ghosh and his wife bought these properties with proceeds of crime. “These documents related to properties were seized based on the prima facie suspicion that those properties were purchased out of Proceeds of Crime,” ED has said.

The ED has found that Sangeeta Ghosh bought two properties without proper approval from West Bengal government and was later granted a post facto approval by none other than Dr Sandip Ghosh, her senior at work during that time.

“During the search, it was unravelled that Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh w/o Dr Sandip Ghosh, had purchased two immovable properties without any proper approval from the State Government Authorities. Interestingly, a post facto approval was granted to Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh to purchase the property by Dr. Sandip Ghosh in year 2021. During this period, Dr.

Sandip Ghosh was posted in capacity of Principal of R. G. Kar Medical College and Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh was posted there as an Assistant Professor,” the ED has said.

The ED on Friday searched seven premises belonging to Dr Ghosh, his close relatives and associates. The investigation is being carried out in a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED’s case is based on an FIR registered by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Dr Ghosh has come under the scanner for the state-run hospital’s response to the doctor’s rape and murder of its premises. The Mamata Banerjee government’s move to name him the principal of a medical college hours after he stepped down from the top post of RG Kar Medical College had raised eyebrows. Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court questioned why the hospital administration under Dr Ghosh did not register a police complaint after the doctor’s body was found.

Amid the outrage over the shocking incident, allegations of large-scale corruption in the hospital emerged. A former colleague of Dr Ghosh approached the high court, accusing him of corruption. The court then handed over the case to the CBI, which is also probing the rape-murder.

Kolkata:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing allegations of financial irregularities at the state-run R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has traced ‘questionable’ properties purchased by the controversial former principal of the institute, Sandip Ghosh, and his wife Sangeeta Ghosh.

According to a statement issued by the probe agency on Tuesday, on September 6, the ED conducted search operations at seven premises, including the residences of Sandip Ghosh, his close relatives and associates, in connection with misappropriation of funds at R.G. Kar Medical College, which has been in the news ever since the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor on the hospital premises last month.

As per the statement, during the search operations at Mr Ghosh’s residence, the ED “seized various incriminating documents, documents related to properties acquired by Sandip Ghosh and his wife Sangeeta Ghosh, and digital devices”.

During the search, it was unravelled that Sangeeta Ghosh had purchased two immovable properties without proper approval from the concerned authorities.

ED officials are investigating the angle of assets disproportionate to income belonging to both Ghosh and his wife, including two residential flats close to R.G Kar, one residential flat in Murshidabad, and one luxurious multi-room farmhouse-cum-bungalow in South 24 Parganas district.

Some of these properties were purchased during the period when Sandip Ghosh was the principal of R.G Kar Medical College.

Both ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are conducting parallel investigations into the case of financial irregularities at R.G Kar.

While, CBI’s is a court-monitored probe, ED has taken suo motu cognisance of the case by registering an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

The ED officials have already traced the involvement of multiple shell entities that were used to unethically bag tender-awards for supply of medical equipment or work-orders for infrastructure maintenance work at RG Kar, all during the period when Sandip Ghosh was at the helm of its affairs.

Meanwhile, a special court in Kolkata on Tuesday sent Sandip Ghosh and three others to judicial custody till September 23 for their alleged involvement in the financial scam at R.G. Kar.

The three others sent to judicial custody are Afsar Ali, Suman Hazra, and Biplab Sinha. While Ali is the personal bodyguard of Mr Ghosh, Mr Sinha and Mr Hazra are vendors who supplied medical equipment to R.G. Kar when Mr Ghosh was its principal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

In another setback for Sandip Ghosh, who was the principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when a trainee doctor was raped and murdered there last month, a special CBI court has sent him to judicial custody till September 23. Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 in a case of alleged financial irregularities at the hospital, and has been in the agency’s custody since then.

The Calcutta High Court had ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital, where Ghosh had been the principal since 2021 – with a brief hiatus in between – from a special investigation team of the Kolkata Police to the CBI on August 23. The order had come after a former deputy superintendent of the facility, Dr Akhtar Ali, had sought an investigation. 

Mr Ali had accused Sandip Ghosh of involvement in the illegal sale of unclaimed corpses, trafficking of biomedical waste, and issuing tenders to select medicine and medical equipment suppliers in exchange for commission. He had also alleged that students were pressured to pay amounts running into lakhs of rupees to pass exams. 

Ghosh was arrested by the CBI after being questioned several times in a span of two weeks. Three other people – vendors Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara, and Afsar Ali, a security guard – were also taken into custody.

After Ghosh was sent to the CBI’s custody for eight days a day after his arrest, he was suspended by the West Bengal government, which has been under fire over its handling of the rape and murder case and a posting given to the former RG Kar principal after he resigned following the crime.

On Tuesday, Ghosh, Afsar Ali, Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara were sent to judicial custody by the special CBI court in Kolkata’s Alipore till September 23.

Protests Continue

On Friday, the Supreme Court had also dismissed Ghosh’s petition challenging the Calcutta High Court order transferring the investigation into the irregularities to the CBI. He had also sought the removal of certain comments made by the high court, and the Supreme Court said no to that as well.

Kolkata and several other places have seen continued protests over the rape and murder of the trainee doctor in the hospital on August 9. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also found herself being attacked by the BJP and other parties and criticised by the victim’s parents after she asked people to return to ‘pujo’ celebrations, referring to the the upcoming Durga Puja festival. 

“It has been a month (since the August 9 incident). I request you return to pujo, return to the festivities and ask the CBI to ensure justice as soon as possible,” she said on Monday. 

Reacting to the comments, the victim’s parents told news agency PTI, “We celebrated Durga Puja with our daughter, we will not celebrate Durga Puja or any other festival for years to come. Her remarks are insensitive.”

BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari accused the Trinamool Congress chief of treating people like puppets. “(Do you think) they will stand, sit, celebrate and stop protests when you ask them to? The pujo fortnight has not started yet, the demon is yet to be slayed. Be patient, the Mother’s power has awakened, it will cleanse Bengal,” he wrote in a post on X. 

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will today hear the case related to the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will oversee the proceedings.

On Sunday night, thousands gathered in Kolkata and across the globe, demanding justice for the victim. These demonstrations were part of a larger wave of protests, organised under the banner of “Reclaim the Night,” a movement calling for safety and justice for women in public spaces.

Supreme Court’s Earlier Hearing

The Supreme Court on August 20 termed the incident “horrific” and took additional measures to address safety concerns within the healthcare sector. The court issued several directives, including the formation of a 10-member National Task Force to develop protocols for ensuring the safety of doctors and healthcare workers across the country.

The court called upon protesting doctors who had been striking in solidarity with the victim to return to work, stating that “justice and medicine cannot be stopped.” 

The case initially faced delays, with the Supreme Court, during its hearing on August 22, criticising the Kolkata Police for their sluggish handling of the investigation. It was not until August 13 that the Calcutta High Court intervened, transferring the investigation from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI began its probe the following day, August 14.

The victim’s body was discovered in a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9, bearing severe injuries. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day in connection with the crime, but the investigation has since widened, resulting in the arrest of the college’s former principal as well.

Protests Worldwide 

From the streets of Kolkata to the cities of Europe, Asia, and the United States, the global Indian community rallied for justice Sunday night. Over 130 protests took place in 25 countries, including major cities like Stockholm, Sydney, and New York. Protesters – many clad in black -held vigils, sang in Bengali, and chanted slogans in solidarity with the victim.

The streets of Kolkata were transformed into protest sites as men and women, young and old, took to the streets to demand justice. From forming human chains to holding burning torches, protesters expressed their anger and sorrow for the victim, who they symbolically named “Tilottama” or “Abhaya.” 

“Whenever I think about the torment, the pain experienced by my daughter on that night, I shudder. She had dreams to serve society. Now, all these protesters are my children,” the victim’s mother said at a rally in Kolkata, as quoted by news agency PTI.

A 14-kilometre-long human chain stretching from Shyambazar in North Kolkata to the suburb of Sodepur was also organised. Thousands of citizens, including rival football fans from East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and Mohammedan Sporting, stood shoulder to shoulder, united in their call for justice.

Centre vs State 

Amid the protests, a political clash has emerged between the Centre and the West Bengal government, with the former accusing the state of “unpardonable” non-cooperation in extending logistical support to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was tasked with providing security at RG Kar Medical College. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in its application to the Supreme Court, has called the lack of cooperation from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government “symptomatic of a systemic malaise.”

The Centre has urged the top court to direct the West Bengal government to fully cooperate with the CISF, failing which it has requested contempt proceedings against the officials responsible for non-compliance
 

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition of former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, who has found himself at the center of a storm after a trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the institution last month, challenging a Calcutta High Court order transferring the investigation into the corruption case against him to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also refused his plea to be added as a party to a petition alleging financial irregularities at the institute during his tenure.

“As an accused, you have no locus to intervene in the PIL where the Calcutta high court is monitoring the investigation,” the bench said.

The top court also refused to remove some comments by the High Court linking the corruption allegations with the rape of the trainee doctor in Kolkata on August 9.

The Calcutta High Court had ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital, where Ghosh had been the principal since 2021 – with a brief hiatus in between – from a special investigation team to the CBI on August 23.

The order had come after a former deputy superintendent of the facility, Dr Akhtar Ali, had sought an investigation into the alleged irregularities during Ghosh’s tenure as the head of the hospital.

Sandip Ghosh was arrested by the CBI in the case on Monday after being questioned several times in a span of two weeks.

In his petition before the Supreme Court, Ghosh said the Calcutta High Court did not hear his side while ordering the CBI investigation into the corruption case against him. He argued that he filed a petition in the High Court seeking to make himself a party, but it was rejected. This, he claimed, proved that the principles of natural justice were not followed.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted raids at the residence of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

A 31-year-old trainee doctor was found brutally raped and murdered at the Kolkata college last month, sparking nationwide outrage over the safety of doctors and women in the country.

The probe agency has conducted raids at 5-6 locations connected to Ghosh and his associates. The house of Prasun Chatterjee, the hospital’s data entry operator, was also searched by the ED. 

Ghosh was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday in connection with alleged irregularities at the hospital during his tenure. The West Bengal government suspended him as he was placed in police custody for eight days.

The former Principal has undergone two rounds of polygraph tests in connection with the rape-murder case after he was accused of negligence in the matter, including failing to file a police complaint when the woman’s body was found.

While he does not face charges in connection with the killing of the doctor, he does face non-bailable corruption charges.

The Indian Medical Association has also suspended his membership.

Dr Ghosh has also come under fire from the Supreme Court which questioned his role in the horrific crime, underlining, that the delay in filing a police case was unacceptable.

“Why was FIR lodged almost 14 hours after discovery of the body… the Principal of the college should have come straightaway and directed filing of the FIR. Who was he in touch with?” the court had asked.

So far, one arrest has been made in connection with the rape and murder of the doctor – a police volunteer called Sanjoy Roy.

The ruling Trinamool and the opposition BJP have hit out at each other over alleged inaction in the case.

On Thursday, the parents of the victim alleged that the police initially tried to suppress the case and close it without a thorough investigation.

“The police, from the very beginning, tried to hush up the case. We were not allowed to see the body and had to wait at the police station while the body was taken for post-mortem examinations,” the father said while addressing the protesters.

Kolkata:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital has found a crucial document showing that former principal Sandip Ghosh gave instructions to the state public works department (PWD) to conduct renovation in areas adjacent to the scene of the crime a day after victim’s body was recovered.

The body of the victim was recovered on the morning of August 9 from the seminar room within the hospital premises.

Sources said the investigating officials secured a crucial document showing that Ghosh issued the permission letter to state PWD to conduct renovation work in a room and toilet adjacent to the seminar hall, which is the scene of the crime.

The investigating officials have accessed that permission letter which bears the signature of Ghosh and is dated August 10, sources said.

Sources said that initially it was perceived that the instruction to PWD to start the renovation work was given by an administrative official of RG Kar under the instruction of Ghosh.

However, on accessing the permission letter it is clear how keen Ghosh was in getting the renovation completed.

On August 13 evening, just hours after a division bench of Calcutta High Court ordered CBI to take over the rape and investigation probe from Kolkata Police, the state PWD staff attempted the renovation work at a room adjacent to the seminar hall from where the body of the victim was recovered on the morning of August 9.

However, that renovation work could not be carried out following massive protests by the students’ fraternity within the hospital premises as soon as the work started.

Sources said that the investigating officials believe that since the document shows Ghosh’s keenness in getting the renovation done, it can be handy in establishing the links between the two parallel investigations by the agency — the first being on the rape and murder case and the second on the financial irregularities at RG Kar.

Incidentally, Ghosh is currently in CBI custody in connection with the financial irregularities case.

The protesting representatives from the state’s medical fraternity have been claiming that the incident at RG Kar was not an isolated case of rape and murder and the victim was killed as she became aware of the irregularities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The principal of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, where a 31-year-old doctor was raped and murdered on August 9, has been sent to eight days of police custody after he was arrested in a case of financial irregularities yesterday by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The CBI had sought custody for 10 days for the accused.

The arrest was made in connection with the allegations of financial irregularities during his tenure, which are being investigated by the central agency alongside the rape-murder case.

Three others have been arrested along with Sandip Ghosh. Sources said they are vendors Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara, who supplied medicine to the hospital and Afsar Ali, a security guard.

As Principal of the RG Kar Medical College, where the woman doctor’s body was discovered on the morning of August 9, the role of Sandip Ghosh has been questioned by many. Even the Supreme Court had questioned why he, the head of the institution, had not lodged a First Information Report immediately.

His transfer to another hospital hours after he resigned his post under the pressure of public opinion, had caused the second shockwave, where the role of the state government had also raised eyebrows. While coming down heavily on the government, the Calcutta High Court had suggested that instead of taking up the post, Sandip Ghosh go on a long leave.

The CBI, which took over the rape-murder case after an order from the Calcutta High Court, had started questioning Sandip Ghosh on August 16. Each session lasted for 10 to 14 hours.

After the financial irregularities case was also handed to it by the High Court, the agency, on August 25, searched his home. Late in the evening, asked if they had gathered any evidence, an official said, “Lots”. The former Principal has undergone two rounds of polygraph tests.

Sandip Ghosh has already been suspended by the Indian Medical Association. His appointment to premier Calcutta National Medical College also backfired, with the students locking him out of the Principal’s office long before the Supreme Court order. 

Kolkata:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday concluded a second round of polygraph tests on former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) principal Sandip Ghosh as part of their investigation into the rape-murder of a woman doctor at the institution.

The CBI sources earlier said that the test would be conducted by a team from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).

Earlier, CBI officials conducted a polygraph test on the arrested accused, Sanjay Roy, in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted searches on August 25 at multiple locations connected to Sandip Ghosh and his relatives in West Bengal’s Kolkata.
On August 24, the CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Dr Sandip Ghosh based on directives from the Calcutta High Court.

The investigation was initiated after a single bench of the High Court ordered the CBI to probe the alleged corruption at the medical college.

The Calcutta High Court has granted the CBI three weeks to submit a progress report on the investigation, which is to be presented on September 17.

Earlier in the month, the Supreme Court ordered the security of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while hearing the suo motu case concerning the incident.

The trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

After a 13-hour search later at the home of Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital’s former Principal Sandip Ghosh, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation left late this evening with multiple documents. The agency, which is already investigating the August 9 rape-murder of a young doctor at the hospital, has also been tasked with the probe into alleged financial irregularities at the institute that took place under the former principal.

Asked if they have found any concrete evidence, a CBI official, on the way out, said, “Bahut kuch hai (Quite a lot).”

Searches were also conducted at the house of ex-medical superintendent Sanjay Vashisth and 13 others in and around Kolkata today.

The CBI’s anti-corruption unit also searched the homes and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients.

There have been multiple corruption allegations against Sandip Ghosh, who has been under the lens of the Central agency over the rape-murder.

On Friday — days after the state government started an investigation into the corruption allegations — the Calcutta High Court handed the case to the CBI.   

Sandip Ghosh has already taken a polygraph test. Today, it was the turn of the main accused, Sanjay Roy.

Ghosh, meanwhile, was questioned by the CBI again today since 8 am. At least seven CBI officers took part in the questioning, which took place at his home in Beliaghata.

Former medical superintendent and vice principal of the hospital Sanjay Vashisth, and another professor of the forensic-medicine department of the institute, were questioned as well.

In its First Information Report, the CBI has named Ghosh and three Kolkata-based private entities — Ma Tara Traders of Madhya Jhorehat, Banipur, Howrah; Eshan CafA of 4/1, Belgachia and Khama Louha.
They have been accused under Indian Penal Code sections of 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A postgraduate woman doctor was raped and murdered in the seminar hall of the hospital on August 9, leading to massive outrage and nationwide protests by doctors and the civil society.

A Kolkata Police civic volunteer has been arrested for the crime.

The CBI, which took over the case following an order by the High Court, has indicated that the crime scene could have been tampered with, reinforcing the allegations of a cover-up.

(With Agencies)