Supreme Court grants bail to Sandip Ghosh; RG Kar victim’s father signals fresh stir

The father of the RG Kar rape-and-murder victim has threatened a fresh movement in West Bengal after the Supreme Court granted bail to former hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in a financial irregularities case, citing prolonged incarceration and slow trial progress

Kolkata: The father of the junior doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August 2024 on Saturday threatened to launch a fresh movement in West Bengal following the Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to former hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in a financial irregularities case.

A Supreme Court division bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale on Friday granted bail to Ghosh, citing his prolonged incarceration and the slow pace of the trial.

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“I will see it through to the end. Even if necessary, I will call for a fresh movement in the state on this issue and hit the streets,” Sekhar Debnath, father of the junior doctor, told mediapersons.

Asked whether a fresh agitation would amount to a protest against the current BJP-led state government, particularly when his wife, Ratna Debnath, the victim’s mother, is a legislator of the ruling party, he said the political circumstances would not deter him from seeking justice for his daughter.

“It really does not matter that she is a part of the ruling dispensation. I will do whatever is necessary for justice,” the victim’s father said.

Information about alleged large-scale financial irregularities at RG Kar, where Ghosh was the principal during the previous Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee, surfaced after the junior doctor’s rape and murder in August 2024.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Ghosh in connection with alleged corruption at the state-run medical institution. The victim’s parents had subsequently alleged that influential people were involved in their daughter’s death.

Debnath has now warned that he could return to the streets to protest against the latest development, renewing his demand for justice.

Ghosh had approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court rejected his bail plea. While granting relief on Friday, the apex court’s division bench took note of the slow progress of the trial.

The bench observed that although Ghosh had remained in custody for more than two years, statements had been recorded from only a small fraction of the 147 witnesses cited in the case.

Taking into account the prolonged incarceration and the pace of the proceedings, the court granted him bail. The decision has prompted the victim’s father to signal the possibility of another round of protests in West Bengal.