Kolkata: Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was verbally abused by an angry crowd near a court in Kolkata. Tensions rose so high that a man from the crowd attempted to slap him as security personnel escorted him to a vehicle.
The incident follows the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor on the hospital’s premises on August 9. The former principal has been arrested by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch over allegations of corruption and financial misconduct during his time at the state-run hospital.
Sandip Ghosh in 8-day CBI custody
On Monday night, Ghosh was taken into custody and was produced in court on Tuesday, where he was placed in 8-day CBI custody. The case will be heard again on September 10.
Amid the outcry over the rape and murder of trainee doctor, Ghosh had resigned as the principal of RG Kar Medical College, said that he could no longer “take the humiliation on social media.”
However, West Bengal government appointed him as the principal of another medical college in Kolkata only hours after his resignation. Following severe backlash, the state government later suspended Ghosh for alleged financial misconduct.
What Calcutta High Court said
The case took a new turn when the state police investigation against Ghosh was transferred to the CBI, following an order by the Calcutta High Court. Allegations of corruption against him have also surfaced, with a former colleague from RG Kar Medical College approaching the high court and raising concerns that his alleged financial misconduct might be linked to the doctor’s death.
The Supreme Court of India had questioned the hospital administration’s actions following the doctor’s murder. “What is the reason the FIR is lodged almost 14 hours after the discovery of the (body). The most important thing is that the principal of the college should have come straight away to the college and directed the filing of the FIR,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said during a hearing on the case.
The Calcutta High Court questioned why the hospital did not file a formal complaint. Instead, Kolkata Police had to file an unnatural death case. “When the deceased victim was a doctor working in the hospital, it is rather surprising as to why the Principal/hospital did not lodge a formal complaint. This, in our view, was a serious lapse, giving room for suspicion,” the court observed.
The court also questioned the government’s decision to reappoint Ghosh as principal of another medical college immediately after his resignation. It described the state’s actions as showing a “tearing urgency”.
