Kolkata, Nov 10 (IANS) Sandip Ghosh, the former controversial principal of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, on Tuesday, did not turn up at the Enforcement Directorate’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata to face interrogation in the multi-crore financial irregularities case.
Ghosh was supposed to turn up at the ED’s Salt Lake office at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. However, he did not turn up at the agency’s office by the time the report was filed and instead, sent his counsel there.
This is the second time that Ghosh has skipped the appearance at the ED’s Salt Lake office. Earlier, he was summoned for questioning on November 4. However, he did not turn up on that day and instead sought more time from the ED officials to appear.
The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI are conducting parallel and simultaneous probes in the multi-crore financial irregularities case at R.G. Kar.
The CBI arrested Ghosh in 2024 in connection with the case. He was initially held in CBI custody and subsequently remanded to judicial custody, where he remained for a period. The Supreme Court granted him bail on October 15 this year.
The ED’s summons brought the case back into focus.
The alleged financial irregularities, involving several crores of rupees, came to light after a junior woman doctor was raped and murdered on the hospital premises in August 2024. The incident triggered widespread outrage and protests.
It was alleged that government funds were illegally transferred from the hospital’s bank account to accounts of influential vendors and contractors close to Ghosh. Following the allegations, officers of the CBI’s Kolkata Anti-Corruption Branch registered a case on August 24, 2024, and arrested the former principal.
Ghosh later approached the Calcutta High Court seeking bail. A single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh rejected his plea, observing that the alleged diversion of public money directly affected healthcare services for the people.
The judge also expressed concern that Ghosh’s political and administrative influence could create a risk of tampering with evidence and witnesses being influenced if he were released on bail.
Ghosh then moved to the Supreme Court, which granted him bail on October 15. The ED’s questioning will form part of its probe into financial transactions linked to the institute.
–IANS
src/dpb
