Kolkata, Sep 17, 2024
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has replaced its Special Director (Eastern region) reportedly to speed up the central agency’s investigations into various cases in West Bengal, including the latest one on the financial irregularities in the state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata.
Satyabrata Kumar, a 2004-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been brought in as the new Special Director (Eastern region).
He was earlier attached with the ED’s western region office as Special Director.
Kumar is replacing Subhash Agarwal, who has been transferred to the ED’s western regional office.
Kumar had earlier served as a staff officer to the former ED Director, Sanjay Kumar Mishra.
He had handled important cases of money laundering like those involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, among others.
Sources said the roping in of Kumar as the head of the directorate’s eastern region office is expected to speed up the ED’s probe in the school job case, ration distribution case, coal and cattle smuggling and most importantly the financial irregularities at RG Kar.
The ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are conducting parallel investigations in the RG Kar financial irregularities case, while the CBI is also probing the rape and murder of a junior doctor of the same hospital last month.
There had been allegations from the representatives of the medical fraternity in particular and the public in general that the two cases are related and the junior doctor became a victim because she got to know of several secrets relating to the irregularities at RG Kar.
While the CBI probe is court-ordered and court-monitored, the ED has made a suo motu entry in the case by filing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).(Agency)
