RG Kar Renovation: Republic Accesses Handwritten Note Issued From Sandip Ghosh's Office

Kolkata: Republic World has accessed a handwritten note related to the construction work that commenced at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 10. The note comes just a day after a viral letter revealed Sandip Ghosh, former RG Kar principal had ordered the demolition of a room adjacent to the seminar hall where the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found. 

The handwritten note mentioned renovation work involving the nurse changing room, a PPT room, and a washroom.  According to the note, Civil Engineer Bimal Pal was tasked with overseeing the construction, and the order was reportedly sanctioned under Ghosh’s directive. 

Following the handwritten note, an official letter from RG Kar Medical College was also issued to the Public Works Department (PWD), further confirming the commencement of the construction project.

Yesterday, Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar shared a purported letter, allegedly signed by Ghosh, saying that renovation work was ordered near the seminar hall. He also claimed that despite repeated allegations from colleagues and protesters about tampering with the crime scene, Kolkata Police denied it.

“The order, signed by Sandip Ghosh, former director of RG Kar Medical College, is dated August 10, just one day after the victim’s death. Despite allegations from colleagues and protesters about tampering with the crime scene, the Police Commissioner denied it. This letter seems to confirm that the seminar hall was demolished the day after the death to destroy evidence. Such actions couldn’t have happened without the instructions of the Health Minister and the failed Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee . Shameful!” Majumdar wrote on X.

Sources told Republic World that the order also included instructions for the demolition of rooms and toilets used by on-duty doctors across various departments. The decision has raised concerns about the timing and intent behind these actions, given the proximity to the recent tragic discovery.  

Vandalism at RG Kar

Earlier last month, unidentified miscreants had ransacked a part of the medical establishment where Abhaya was found dead.  The vandalism took place amid midnight protests by women in various parts of West Bengal against the alleged rape and murder of the doctor. Nurses at the hospital had also protested the vandalism and demanded proper security on the premises.      

Police had said that nearly 40 people, masquerading as protestors, entered the hospital premises, vandalized property, and pelted the police personnel present with stones, prompting the force to burst tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

ED Raids Houses of Sandip Ghosh, Aides Over Financial Irregularities

Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers today 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 four are already in CBI custody. 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.