The West Bengal government’s decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital has sparked criticism from the BJP. The party has condemned the move as a strategy to shield former principal Sandip Ghosh.
The SIT, comprising four senior IPS officers, is tasked with investigating alleged embezzlement and financial misconduct dating back to 2021, when Ghosh was in charge. Ghosh stepped down from his role days before the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital earlier this month.
BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya criticized the SIT’s formation, questioning the suitability of police officers to handle financial investigations. On X, Malviya stated, “Now, WB Govt constitutes a SIT to probe allegations of financial irregularities by Dr. Sandeep Ghosh, the disgraced Principal of RG Kar Medical College & Hospital. How are police officers equipped to investigate financial crimes? This is nothing but Mamata Banerjee’s move to save Ghosh.”
Malviya further alleged that the state police might arrest Ghosh just to prevent the CBI from taking him into custody. He demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation to ensure a fair investigation into the rape and murder case.
The SIT will be led by Pranab Kumar, IG of Training, with Syed Waquar Raza (DIG Murshidabad Range), Soma Das Mitra (DIG CID), and Indira Mukherjee (DC-Central, Kolkata Police) as members. The team is expected to investigate financial irregularities at the hospital from January 2021 to the present.
The formation of the SIT comes amid ongoing CBI interrogations of Ghosh related to the RG Kar case. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya suggested that the SIT was formed because Ghosh might have divulged critical information to the CBI.
In a related development, the Calcutta High Court has postponed the hearing on Ghosh’s plea for police protection. Ghosh, who recently resigned as principal of RG Kar, was controversially appointed as principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) shortly after, leading to protests from medical students and junior doctors.