Bengal Govt Allows ED To Prosecute RG Kar's Former Principal Sandip Ghosh In Corruption Case

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has sanctioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of the infamous R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, in connection with the alleged financial irregularities linked to the institution.

The prosecution has been sanctioned by West Bengal Governor under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The government order read, "After carefully examining the materials placed before the Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal and the Competent Authority, prima-facie have revealed that the criminal Acts of commissions and omissions on the part of said Shri Sandip Ghosh, the then Principal of R.G.Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, punishable under Section 120B of IPC read with Section 420 of IPC and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended by the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018) are scheduled offences as defined under Section 2(1)(y) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)."

The hospital came to the limelight after a trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered at the institution in 2024. Apart from the corruption case, Ghosh also faces questioning over the rape-murder case.

The order to prosecute Sandip Ghosh comes after the newly-formed BJP government formed commissions to investigate institutional corruption and atrocities against women.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, “Today, I feel fortunate to have taken a great and positive step as the Chief Minister. In connection with the brutal rape and murder of our sister, ‘Abhaya,’ at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, the ‘Sanction of Prosecution’ has been formally accorded to the ED (Enforcement Directorate) to take legal action and prosecute the then-Principal of R.G. Kar, the notorious Sandip Ghosh, in accordance with legal procedures.”

Criticising the previous Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government's handling of the situation, Adhikari said, “The previous Trinamool Congress government had forcibly and unethically stalled the investigation process of this case for a long time. But we believe that no one is above the law. Truth cannot be suppressed forever.”

“I want the real culprits behind the tragedy of sister Abhaya to be identified quickly, receive the harshest possible punishment, and for the people of Bengal to witness justice being served. I pray for the eternal peace of sister Abhaya's soul,” the CM said.

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