Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on Friday conducted simultaneous search operations at 11 locations across the State in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
It also detained Prasun Chatterjee, a close aide of Sandip Ghosh, the arrested former principal of the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, after seven hours of search operations at his residence, linked to alleged financial irregularities during Ghosh’s tenure.
The simultaneous raids, which started at 6:30 am at the residences of Sandip Ghosh and his relatives and alleged associates, continued till evening. The Enforcement Directorate sleuths also raided a bungalow and farmhouse in the Canning area of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. The lavish property was owned by Sandip Ghosh.
The ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Ghosh. 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. The ED came into the picture to probe the financial wrongdoings.
Meanwhile, the State continues to witness widespread protests following the horrific rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. On Friday, the West Bengal BJP ramped up its ongoing protests, organising a statewide “Chakka jam” (road blockade) in demand for justice and the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Protesters voiced anger over the handling of the case and the alleged cover-up, calling for accountability from the Government and the Kolkata Police. Demonstrators, including BJP members and supporters, burned tyres and carried placards in support of their demands.
In Kolkata, protesters blocked arterial roads across the length and breadth of the city from 1 pm to 2 pm. Similar protests were held in Birbhum, Paschim Bardhaman and Paschim Medinipur districts, where tyres were burnt, causing brief disruption to traffic movement.
BJP leaders accused Kolkata police of attempting to destroy evidence in the case. The family of the victim reportedly faced pressure from authorities, with claims of a hurried cremation and bribe offers to keep silent about the circumstances of the death.
Meanwhile, senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding the status of the charge-sheet in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case. “When is CBI filing a charge-sheet in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case and putting the accused on trial? When?” he posted on X.
