RG Kar case: CBI files chargesheet, not accepted by Kolkata court

The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet in connection with the RG Kar Hospital financial irregularities in which it has named former principal of the medical establishment Sandip Ghosh as the prime accused, an official said. The Special CBI court at Alipore in Kolkata , however, did not accept the chargesheet as the official approval required to file a chargesheet against any state government employee was not available, he said. In the 100-odd page chargesheet, the central probe agency has also named four others who were arrested for alleged involvement in the irregularities, he said.
The chargesheet implicates Dr Ghosh and four others - Biplab Singh, Afsar Ali, Suman Hazra, and Ashish Pandey - in alleged corruption related to the rigging of tenders for medical equipment over a three-year period. This elaborate financial fraud reportedly benefited Ghosh's close associates. Supporting documents exceeding 1,000 pages were also submitted alongside the chargesheet to bolster the investigation's findings.Despite the CBI's efforts, the court refused to accept the chargesheet as it lacked the required sanction from the West Bengal government.According to protocol, such approval is necessary when filing charges against state government employees, including Dr Ghosh and Dr Ashish Pandey, both of whom are medical officers at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The alleged financial fraud has drawn widespread attention due to its duration and scale. The CBI claims that tenders for medical equipment were manipulated systematically, benefiting a select few linked to the accused.The CBI arrested Dr Ghosh on September 2, following extensive enquiries triggered by irregularities unearthed at the state-run hospital. The scandal came under the spotlight after a grim incident in August when the body of a trainee doctor was discovered in the hospital's seminar room, prompting nationwide outrage and scrutiny of the hospital's administration.