Days after the former principal at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted simultaneous search operations at his residence along with raids at the residences of three of his associates.

The raids were carried out in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the institute, an officer said, PTI reported.

The raids were carried out at Ghosh’s residence in Beliaghata and at three locations in Howrah and Subhasgram. All the four accused are already in CBI custody. Ghosh was arrested by CBI on Tuesday.

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

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

ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe money laundering charges against Sandip Ghosh in the financial irregularities case.

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.

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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. He was again suspended after a 31-year-old woman doctor was found dead at the seminar hall of the hospital.

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.

Meanwhile, the former Principal has undergone two rounds of polygraph tests in connection with the rape-murder case after he was accused of negligence in the matter, including failing to file a police complaint when the woman’s body was found. While he does not face charges in connection with the killing of the doctor, he does face non-bailable corruption charges.

So far, one arrest has been made in connection with the rape and murder of the doctor – a police volunteer called Sanjay Roy.

(With inputs from PTI)