November 11, the Calcutta High Court declined to entertain a bail plea from Dr. Sandip Ghosh, the ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, advising him to seek bail from a lower court instead. Dr. Ghosh is entangled in a multi-crore financial irregularities case currently under scrutiny by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the single-judge bench directed that the bail application should be submitted to the lower court handling the intricate financial case. This development comes as both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conduct parallel investigations into the allegations, with the ED having initiated an independent probe through an enforcement case information report (ECIR).
In addition to the financial irregularities, Dr. Ghosh is also implicated in a heinous case involving the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at the same medical institution in August of this year. The CBI is investigating this case and has charged Sanjay Roy, the primary accused, who has denied all allegations and claimed he has been wrongfully framed.
The financial irregularities case involves accusations of manipulated tender processes favoring certain contractors, bypassing the state Public Works Department, and conducting unauthorized sales of bio-medical waste and organs from unidentified bodies at the hospital morgue. Along with Ghosh, four others, including his associate Ashish Pandey, are in judicial custody, with evidence pointing to Pandey’s significant role in the financial misconduct.
The seriousness of these cases has led to an uproar within the medical community, with junior doctors at RG Kar Medical College demanding severe penalties, including capital punishment, for those found guilty. Their demands for justice echo through the medical community, intensifying the scrutiny on the ongoing investigations.
This complex case has also attracted political attention, with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari recently meeting the victim’s family and expressing solidarity. Adhikari’s statement underscores the political dimensions of the case, as he criticized the state government’s handling of the situation and called for accountability for those who allegedly tampered with evidence.
