'Beginning of the end': West Bengal governor after arrest of ex-RG Kar Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh
Times of India | 3 September 2024
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose (left), Sandip Ghosh (right) NEW DELHI: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose described on Monday night that the arrest of the ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, marks the "beginning of the end" of an investigation into alleged financial misconduct at the establishment.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took Ghosh and three others into custody on Monday.
"This is the beginning of the end," Bose told PTI, without providing further details.
The arrest came shortly after Bose met union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, accompanied by a petition from the parents of a deceased woman medic at RG Kar Hospital.
According to an official at the Raj Bhavan, the parents had written a letter to Shah, through Bose, urging him for a speedy investigation of their daughter's death.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, into custody on Monday evening following an entire day of interrogation. He was swiftly transferred from the Special Crime Branch's (SCB) offices in Salt Lake's CGO Complex to the anti-corruption branch's (ACB) offices at Nizam Palace.
While the SCB is investigating the rape-murder case, the ACB is looking into corruption allegations against Ghosh and three others. Ghosh's arrest comes after 17 days of questioning and two polygraph tests in the 21 days since the CBI took over the investigation from the police.
In connection with the corruption case, three other individuals have also been arrested: Biplab Singha, the owner of Ma Tara Traders, an RG Kar vendor; Suman Hazra, the owner of a medical shop in Howrah that allegedly sold recycled medicines from RG Kar Hospital; and Afsar Ali, Ghosh's security guard.
Ghosh had been at the SCB's CGO Complex office since 10am, answering questions related to the rape-murder case. Just before 7pm, he was escorted out and swiftly taken to the CBI's Nizam Palace office in a car. His arrest took place around 8pm.
On August 12, amidst criticism over his handling of the RG Kar incident, Ghosh had stepped down as principal, only to be reinstated within hours as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College. This move faced strong disapproval from the Calcutta High Court, which directed him to take an extended leave of absence.
On August 9, the body of the woman medic, who had been raped and murdered, was discovered in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.