The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at the residences and offices of individuals connected to Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Hospital who has been arrested in relation to alleged financial irregularities at the medical facility.
Searches were carried out at Chandan Louhya’s flat in Kolkata’s Tala area and an office in Kalindi. Additionally, another ED team conducted a raid at Ghosh’s ancestral home in Chinar Park, North 24 Parganas district.
According to an official, Louhya and his wife are being questioned. It is alleged that Ghosh had favored Louhya’s wife in awarding a tender. Additionally, a separate team is searching an office of an organisation that supplied equipment to RG Kar Hospital, examining suspicious transactions between the hospital and the organisation, PTI reported.
The ED, in conjunction with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is conducting a parallel investigation into the financial irregularities at the state-run hospital. The CBI had previously arrested Ghosh and three accomplices in connection with the case.
On September 10, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court remanded Ghosh and three others to judicial custody until September 23 in relation to financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI arrested Ghosh on September 2. The arrest followed a directive from a single bench of the Calcutta High Court, which ordered the CBI to investigate the alleged corruption and financial irregularities at the college and hospital.
An official FIR was registered by the CBI against Ghosh on August 24 following the High Court’s order. Amid the ongoing investigation, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Kolkata suspended Ghosh’s membership.
On August 26, the CBI conducted a second round of polygraph tests on Ghosh as part of their investigation into the alleged rape and murder of the woman doctor at the institution.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Sandip Ghosh’s plea against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into corruption allegations. Ghosh had objected to negative remarks made about him by the High Court.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said Ghosh did not have standing to challenge the public interest litigation. Ghosh’s lawyer argued that while Ghosh is not against the investigation, he objected to being linked to the RG Kar rape case, calling it unfair.
The Court noted that Ghosh was principal of RG Kar Medical College during the incidents. It also highlighted that the investigation is ongoing and has requested a progress report from the CBI by September 17. The Calcutta High Court has given the CBI three weeks to submit this progress report.