A Durga Puja pandal in Murshidabad district has sparked controversy as the idol of the demon king, Mahishasur, bore a striking resemblance to the arrested former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh.

The image went viral on social media platforms — Facebook and Instagram — with users pointing out striking similarities. “The face just needs glasses and it will look like a mirror image of Sandip Ghosh,” a Facebook user commented.

The organisers, however, vehemently denied any intentional resemblance, claiming it was merely a coincidence.

Praloy Gupta, member of the organizing committee, reiterated that the resemblance was purely coincidental and that the artist’s intention was to express creative vision, and there was no deliberate attempt to portray the asura as a likeness of Sandip Ghosh.

The sculpture has been created by artist Asim Pal of Baharampur Swargadham Sevak Sangh’s Durga Puja.

Explaining that this year’s Durga Puja theme was inspired by various regions of India, Gupta said, “The Ganesh idol is modeled after western styles, Lakshmi has a Bengali look, Saraswati is inspired by Himachal Pradesh, and Kartick reflects South Indian influences.”

A trainee woman doctor was found raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 and the CBI, which is probing the case, had on September 14, arrested Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of R G Kar Medical College in connection with alleged tampering of evidence in the case and allegedly trying to “hush up” the incident.

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