CBI registers FIR against former R G Kar medical college principal Sandip Ghosh over corruption charges

The Calcutta High Court had on Friday ordered the transfer of the probe into alleged financial irregularities in the hospital during Ghosh's tenure to CBI from the state-formed SIT.

New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday registered a case of alleged financial irregularities at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College where a trainee doctor was found dead in a bloodied state on August 9, officials said.

The agency took over the investigation from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the West Bengal government on the directions of Calcutta High Court.

The high court which had already handed over the probe into the rape and murder of the medico also transferred the probe of financial irregularities to the CBI "in the interest of ensuring a comprehensive and unbiased inquiry".

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"...this Court directs that the investigation be transferred to the CBI, given that the case involved serious allegations and multiple agencies handling different aspects of the case could lead to inefficiencies or inconsistency for comprehensive justice, unnecessary delays in the judicial process and potential misinterpretation of information thereby undermining effective and credible enforcement. Therefore, the investigation should not be fragmented between different agencies. Handing over the investigation to the CBI ensures consistency," Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj said.

The high court directed the CBI to submit a progress report on the investigation within three weeks.

The court had earlier told the state police to hand over the case diary and necessary paperwork by Saturday at 10 AM.

The central probe agency collected all the documents from the police and re-registered the FIR. According to the procedure, the CBI takes over the investigation from state police and re-registers its FIR as its own, keeping the details unchanged. The central agency gives its findings in the final report and submits it before a special court.

The High Court had given the directives for a CBI probe on the plea of former Deputy Superintendent of the hospital Akhtar Ali who had alleged financial irregularities in the hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh and sought a probe by the central agencies.

Ali had already filed a complaint with the state police in July 2023.

He had given documentary evidence to corroborate the claims of massive corruption, improper utilization of government funds, selling of used hazardous bio-medical waste and transfer of officers for monetary benefit, citing serious ramifications of such illegal activities upon public health and safety as well as misappropriation of public funds.

The state government constituted an SIT on August 16 to conduct an enquiry and investigation into the allegations of financial irregularities in R.G Kar Hospital during the period between January 2021 till date.

The medical college came into media glare following the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in a seminar hall on August 9 in which a traffic police volunteer Sanjay Roy was arrested.

The gruesome crime resulted in nationwide protests by doctors and citizens.

The Supreme Court on Friday appealed to the protesting doctors to resume work and that it was issuing necessary directions to ensure their safety.