West Bengal Health Dept Suspends RG Kar Hospital's Ex-Principal Sandip Ghosh Following CBI Arrest

Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata, has been suspended and removed from the West Bengal Medical Council due to an ongoing CBI investigation.

File photo of RG Kar Hospital's ex-principal Sandip Ghosh

Source : ABP Ananda | PTI

 The West Bengal Health Department has officially suspended Sandeep Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation. He has also been removed from the West Bengal Medical Council and its associated panels, including the ethics committees.

"In view of the ongoing criminal investigation against Prof. (Dr.) Sandip Ghosh, Ex-Principal, RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, Prof (Dr.) Ghosh is placed under suspension under Rule 7(1c) of West Bengal Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules. 1971 with immediate effect," stated the Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal.

Ghosh's suspension follows his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday, marking the culmination of intense pressure from junior doctors who had long demanded his removal. Despite their calls, the state government had previously failed to take action.

Sandip Ghosh's CBI Arrest Over Probe Into ‘Financial Irregularities’ At RG Kar Hospital

The CBI arrested Sandip Ghosh, along with his security guard Afsar Ali (44), and hospital vendors Biplav Singha (52) and Suman Hazara (46), on allegations of financial irregularities at the hospital, which has been under scrutiny following the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor last month. Ghosh’s arrest came after 15 days of questioning by the agency, which took him from its Salt Lake office to the CBI's Nizam Palace office in Kolkata, where he was officially taken into custody, news agency PTI reported.

This marked the second major arrest related to RG Kar Medical College since August 9. Previously, a Kolkata Police civic volunteer, Sanjoy Roy, was arrested by the Kolkata Police and subsequently handed over to the CBI in connection with the medic's alleged rape and murder.

On August 23, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar hospital from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the CBI. The court's direction came in response to a petition filed by former deputy superintendent Dr Akhtar Ali, who called for an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into multiple allegations of financial misconduct during Ghosh's tenure.

Ghosh served as the principal of RG Kar Medical College from February 2021 to September 2023, and was inexplicably reinstated to the position shortly after his transfer in October 2023. His tenure was marred by controversy, including allegations of illegal activities such as the sale of unclaimed corpses, trafficking of biomedical waste, and corrupt practices involving tenders. There were also claims that students were pressured to pay bribes ranging from Rs 5 to 8 lakhs to pass exams, as per PTI.

Dr Akhtar Ali had raised these concerns before the State Vigilance Commission and Anti-Corruption Bureau over a year ago, but his complaints not only yielded little result but also led to his own transfer, PTI's report stated. In his plea to the High Court, Ali suggested that the alleged corruption at the institution may have been connected to the trainee doctor's death, with the victim reportedly aware of these malpractices and threatening exposure.

Following the trainee doctor's murder, Ghosh was asked to go on leave by the state government, but this action did little to quell the widespread protests that erupted in the state, with doctors and the public demanding his suspension. Protestors across various social and political circles have accused the Mamata Banerjee administration of shielding Ghosh by delaying his suspension.

In the FIR registered on the Calcutta High Court's directions, the CBI has charged Ghosh and three Kolkata-based private entities—Ma Tara Traders, Eshan Cafe, and Khama Louha—under sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency conducted searches at the premises of all named entities during the operation.