RG Kar ex-principal Sandip Ghosh helped two cartels procure hospital contracts: CBI chargesheet

New Delhi: Former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh allegedly helped two cartels in procuring hospital contracts, the agency said in its recently filed chargesheet.

The special court has taken the chargesheet on record but it is yet to take its cognisance because the West Bengal government has not provided sanction to prosecute Ghosh and other accused.

Ghosh had resigned as the principal of the state-run institute on August 12 in the aftermath of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor on its premises.

The CBI has named Ghosh, former House Staff of the medical college Ashish Kumar Pandey, and businessmen Biplab Singha of Maa Tara Traders, Suman Hazra of Hazra Medical and Afsar Ali Khan of Eshan Cafe, in the charge sheet.

"This case was registered in compliance with the directions of Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta relating to financial irregularities in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital at Kolkata," the CBI Spokesperson said.

The CBI has alleged that Ghosh and Pandey appointed several doctors as house staff in violation of the rules, they said.

Ghosh helped two cartels -- one run by Singha and Hazra and the other by Khan -- in procuring several contracts of the hospital, the CBI has alleged in its chargesheet filed before a Special CBI court in Alipore.

"On careful perusal, it manifested that sanction order of the competent authority not yet received. Accordingly, cognisance is not taken sans sanction. Let it be kept with the record," the Special Judge said.

The Hospital hogged media attention when a trainee doctor was found dead in the chest department auditorium on August 10. It surfaced that she was allegedly raped and killed by a civic volunteer Sanjay Roy in the intervening night of August 9-10.

Ghosh was also under scanner in the case for alleged delay in the probe. In between, the Calcutta High Court ordered a probe into alleged financial irregularities in hospital during his tenure.

The High Court order came on a petition by the former deputy superintendent of the facility, Akhtar Ali, who prayed for a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into multiple counts of alleged financial misconduct at the institute during Gosh's tenure as its principal.

Ghosh served as principal of RG Kar Medical College from February 2021 to September 2023. He was transferred from RG Kar in October last year but inexplicably returned to that position within a month.

He was posted as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital within hours of his resignation in August this year, but was subsequently asked to go on an indefinite leave in the wake of the High Court's objection to his appointment and massive protests.