New Delhi, Sep 4 2024-
The controversial former Principal of Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a junior doctor was found raped and murdered last month, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run institute during his tenure.
The special leave petition filed by Sandip Ghosh before the apex court challenges the August 23 order of the Calcutta High Court directing the CBI to take charge of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities when he was in charge of the medical hospital.
There had been several complaints about financial irregularities at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital when Ghosh was at the helm of affairs there as the principal. The charges include tendering of different contracts to private and outsourced parties of his confidence without getting the necessary approval from the state Health Department and the college council, getting the infrastructure-related tasks of the hospital done by private outsourced entities or individuals, instead of following the standard practice of getting them done by the state Public Works Department (PWD) and selling biomedical wastes of the hospital, including organs of the unidentified bodies coming to the hospital mortuary for post-mortem purposes, outside.
Acting on a petition by the whistleblower, Akhtar Ali, who is a former deputy medical superintendent of R.G. Kar, a bench of Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj of the Calcutta HC said the CBI enquiry will be court-monitored. On the same afternoon, Ghosh approached a division bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharya challenging the single-judge bench order. However, he was given no instant relief and was advised to get a copy of the single-judge bench’s order first.
Instead of approaching the division bench again with the single-judge bench’s order copy, Ghosh has now chosen to move to the Supreme Court.
Following the high court order, CBI officials conducted raid and search operations at multiple locations in Kolkata. Ghosh and three others were taken into custody by the CBI’s Economic Offences Wing on September 2 evening. A special court in Kolkata on Tuesday sent Ghosh, arrested over alleged financial irregularities at the state-run college, to eight days CBI custody.
Ghosh had been interrogated both in the financial irregularities case as well as the ghastly rape and murder of junior doctor of R.G. Kar within the hospital premises last month. The central agency officials are conducting parallel probes in both these cases which are court-directed as well as court-monitored.
In a related development, the Centre has moved an application before the Supreme Court seeking direction to the West Bengal government to extend full cooperation to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deputed at the R.G. Kar Medical College. The Centre also prayed the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the erring officials of the West Bengal government for “wilful non-compliance” with the order passed by the Supreme Court in suo moto proceedings. (Agency)
