The state health department has given its nod to the CBI to “prosecute” former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in a financial irregularity case for which he has been arrested.
The central agency has also got a nod, from the RG Kar authorities, to prosecute Asish Pandey, a former house staff at the medical college.
The CBI’s anti-corruption branch had arrested Ghosh on September 2 in the financial irregularity case. Pandey was arrested in October on similar charges.
The central agency filed a chargesheet against Ghosh and Pandey on November 29 but a Sealdah court could not take cognisance of it as the state government’s concurrence was awaited.
Ghosh was the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was raped and murdered on the campus on August 9.
Junior doctors started protests after the rape and murder and demanded Ghosh’s resignation.
Ghosh resigned on August 12 but was appointed as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital within hours. He could not take up the new assignment as protesting junior doctors sat in front of the office of the principal of Calcutta National Medical College.
On August 13, Calcutta High Court ordered that Ghosh be asked to go on leave immediately.
The bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya questioned the “tearing urgency” of Ghosh’s appointment as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College.
The state health department suspended Ghosh on September 3 following his arrest by the CBI.
Sources in the health department, which received the documents related to the request for concurrence to prosecute Ghosh and Pandey, said on Tuesday that the department had given its consent about 10 days back.
“We gave the nod to prosecute Ghosh. We also told the CBI that since Pandey was a house staff, he was not an employee of the state government. A house staff is employed by the medical college concerned,” said the official.
An official at RG Kar said the medical college authorities had given their consent last week to prosecute Pandey.
“We wrote to the CBI that we have no objection if they prosecute Pandey. We received a format and checked his name and designation, among other details,” said an official at the medical college.
CBI sources said they had informed the Sealdah court about the concurrence given by the state government and RG Kar authorities. The case will be heard on January 30.
A CBI officer said the framing of charges was held up as the state’s concurrence was pending. Many had questioned why the state government was holding back its consent to prosecute Ghosh and Pandey.
“The process to frame charges will start now,” the officer said.
The agency has charged Ghosh and Pandey with “forgery, criminal conspiracy and breach of trust”, the officer said. “Ghosh and Pandey have also been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”
The court will examine the charges for which the accused have been booked and the evidence presented by the CBI before framing charges against them.
The trial will start after charges are framed.
Apart from Ghosh and Pandey, those named in the chargesheet are Afsar Ali Khan, who was Ghosh’s guard when he was the RG Kar principal, and two vendors — Sumon Hazra and Biplav Singha.
Hazra, who officers said was close to the former principal, owns a medical equipment shop in Howrah, from where Ghosh allegedly made illegal purchases for RG Kar against inflated bills.
Ghosh was also arrested in the rape-and-murder case, along with former Tala police station officer-in-charge Abhijit Mandal. Both were granted bail as the CBI could not file a chargesheet against them within 90 days of their arrest.
While Mandal was released from custody, Ghosh is still behind bars in the financial irregularity case.