The CBI had taken over the investigation after questions were raised over the Kolkata police’s handling of the case. Ghosh appeared for questioning at the CBI office at Kolkata’s CGO complex in the afternoon.

According to sources, Ghosh had expressed concerns about his safety, because of which CBI officials took him to their office in an agency vehicle.

The agency had earlier questioned two members of the Kolkata Police SIT that initially probed the case, as well as four doctors from the hospital. A special 12-members team of the CBI is investigating the case.

Ghosh had on Monday resigned from the post of principal “on moral grounds”. Hours later, the West Bengal government appointed him the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH), triggering protests from students who did not allow him to enter the campus.

An orthopaedic professor, Ghosh was appointed the principal of R G Kar in mid-2021, after being promoted from his previous position at CNMCH.

His questioning came on a day the Calcutta High Court slammed the police and hospital authorities over miscreants vandalising parts of the hospital during a midnight protest by doctors there.

A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said it was hard to believe that the police intelligence did not have information about the gathering of 7,000 people.

The Chief Justice also warned that the court can order the closing down of the medical establishment.

The Bench directed the police and the administrator of the hospital to file separate affidavits on the “true state of affairs” at the hospital on August 21, when the matter will be heard again.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meanwhile accused the opposition CPI(M) and BJP of orchestrating the vandalism at the hospital and attempting to obscure the truth by spreading fake news on social media.

Reiterating her demand for capital punishment for the accused, Banerjee commended the Kolkata Police for their investigation.

She also urged the CBI to solve the case by Sunday. Banerjee, who led a protest rally from Moulali to Dorina Crossing in Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim, further claimed, “The nexus between the Left and BJP should be exposed… They vandalised the hospital to destroy evidence of the ghastly crime.”

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