1st chargesheet filed by CBI in RG Kar financial irregularities case

Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its first chargesheet in Kolkata's special court on Friday in relation to multi-crore financial irregularities at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. According to sources familiar with the situation, the first chargesheet names Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, and four others.

The other four named in the chargesheet are Asish Pandey, Ghosh's personal bodyguard Afsar Ali, Suman Hazra and Biplab Singha. The last two individuals named are private contractors and suppliers.

Besides five individuals, three business entities engaged in the supply of products and services to the R.G. Kar authorities were also named in the chargesheet.

However, although the chargesheet was submitted by the CBI to the court on Friday, it was not officially accepted by the court authorities.

This is because since Ghosh and Pandey were attached to the West Bengal government as employees, the acceptance of the chargesheet by the court authorities can be done only after there is an official clearance from the state government.

Sources in the know of things said that in the chargesheet, the CBI officials had given details on how Ghosh used to manipulate the tendering process of R.G. Kar to ensure that only contractors close to him got work orders or contracts against hefty commissions.

In the chargesheet, the investigating officials had also given details on the skyrocketing increase in the quantum of assets and properties of the accused persons, especially Ghosh, during the short period after he assumed the charge as the Principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Sources added that in the chargesheet, Ghosh has been identified as the mastermind behind the entire alleged scam.

Besides making manipulations in the tendering process, the other charges in the case are getting infrastructure-related work at R.G. Kar done by private outsourced agencies bypassing the state public works department, smuggling bio-medical wastes from the hospital and selling the organs of the unidentified bodies brought to the hospital for autopsy purposes.

Besides the financial irregularities case, the CBI is also probing Ghosh and former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal in connection with the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in August this year.

The main charges against Ghosh and Mondal in this case are tampering with the evidence and misleading the investigation while the initial probe was being carried out by Kolkata Police before the matter was handed over to CBI.