ED raids houses of ex-principal of RG Kar hospital, 3 aides

Former deputy superintendent of hospital raises concerns that corruption at RG Kar might be linked to doctor's death, suggests that victim was aware of misconduct and might have threatened to expose it

Kolkata: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on Friday conducted simultaneous search operations at the residences of Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and three of his associates in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the institute, an officer said.

The raids were carried out at Ghosh’s residence in Beliaghata and at two locations in Howrah and Subhasgram. All the four are already in CBI custody.

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“We reached these places around 6.15 am and started our raids,” the officer said.

The ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Ghosh, which is analogous to a First Information Report (FIR) in criminal cases.

On August 23, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the CBI.

This decision followed a petition by Dr Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the facility, who sought an investigation by the ED into multiple allegations of financial misconduct during Ghosh’s tenure as principal.

Ghosh served as principal from February 2021 to September 2023. He was briefly transferred from RG Kar in October 2023 but was reinstated within a month.

Dr Ali had raised concerns that the corruption at RG Kar hospital might be linked to the doctor’s death, suggesting that the victim was aware of the misconduct and might have threatened to expose it.