Two autopsy assistants at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital were arrested on Monday for allegedly extorting money from the relatives of victims of unnatural deaths whose bodies were sent to the morgue for post-mortem examinations.
According to a report by IANS, the arrests came after a violent altercation between the two accused, Shambhu Mallick and Santosh Mallick, within the hospital premises a few days ago.
Sources indicated that the cops of Tala Police Station launched an investigation into the matter and it was discovered that the reason for the scuffle was the quarrel between the two autopsy assistants over the share of the extorted money.
Meanwhile, the insiders at the R.G. Kar hospital disclosed that numerous complaints had previously been lodged against the two autopsy assistants for similar extortion activities.
"However, the hospital authorities have ignored all the complaints for a long time. The matter would not have come to such a stage had there not been the clash between the two, following which normal post-mortem process at the morgue was halted for quite some time,” stated an R.G. Kar insider who did not wish to be named.
Financial Irregularities Case At R.G. Kar Medical College Under Investigation
A key allegation in the financial irregularities case at R.G. Kar Medical College, currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), involves the illegal sale of organs harvested from unidentified bodies brought to the hospital morgue for post-mortem examinations. These organs were allegedly sold on the black market at lucrative prices.
Former Principal Sandip Ghosh, known for his controversial tenure, has been accused of running this racket in collaboration with a group of autopsy assistants.
Additionally, junior doctors at R.G. Kar, who had previously protested the horrific rape and murder of a colleague, had also alleged that Ghosh took a share of the money extorted from relatives of victims of unnatural deaths whose bodies were brought to the morgue for post-mortem procedures.