Kolkata:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, is trying to retrieve the deleted history of the mobile phone calls and messages which Ashish Pandey made on August 9, the morning of which the body of the victim was discovered at the seminar hall within the hospital premises.

Pandey is one of the confidants of Sandip Ghosh, the former and controversial principal of RG Kar.

Sources said the investigating officials have come across some circumstantial evidence that indicates that the history of such calls and messages from Pandey’s mobile phone were deleted in due course.

The investigating officials believe that once the data on this count are retrieved it might lead to new angles in the twin conspiracies, the first related to tampering of evidence in the rape and murder case and the second related to the rampant financial irregularities at RG Kar.

Sources added that the investigating officials suspect that these deleted calls and messages were mainly related to a conversation between Pandey and his mentor Sandip Ghosh, against whom the central agency officials are conducting parallel probes in both the rape and murder as well the financial irregularities case.

In the rape and murder case, the main charges against Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal are — misleading the investigation and tempering of the evidence when the initial probe in the matter was being carried out by the Kolkata Police.

The name of Pandey first surfaced in the second week of September, when the CBI officials traced that he had put up at a hotel in Salt Lake on the night of August 9, on the morning of which the body of the doctor was discovered within the hospital premises.

On October 3, the CBI sleuths arrested Pandey in connection with the financial irregularities case. He is currently under judicial custody.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Ten doctors considered close to Sandip Ghosh, arrested former Principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital, have been expelled by the hospital authorities for multiple irregularities, including issuing threats, coercion and sexual harassment. The expulsion comes amid an unprecedented “fast unto death” being held by a group of protesting junior doctors. 

The list of those expelled includes interns, house staff and senior residents from the hospital. All of them have been asked to vacate the college hostel within 72 hours. Their registration papers will be sent to the West Bengal Medical Council for action.

Among them, Ashish Pandey, a house staff, has already been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the case involving financial irregularities at the hospital that they are investigating.

Sandip Ghosh has also been arrested by the CBI in the case as well as the rape-murder of a junior doctor that had shocked by the country.  

The CBI is conducting a parallel investigation in that case as well.

Ayushree Thapa, another house staff, is the only woman doctor to be expelled. The other eight are Sourav Pal, Abhishek Sen, Nirjan Bagchi, Sarif Hasan, Neelagni Debnath, Amarendra Singh, Satpal Singh and Tanweer Ahmed Kazi.

The charges against them include threatening others to fail examinations or get ousted from the hostel, forcing other juniors to join a particular political party, sexual harassment and misconduct, forceful collection of money, lodging of false FIRs against students and physical violence on targeted students among others, reported news agency IANS.

Kolkata:

A designated CBI court, while denying bail to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, has observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation against him is grave and could attract capital punishment if proved.

The CBI had arrested Ghosh and former officer in-charge of Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, for alleged tampering of evidence and delay in filing of FIR in the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run hospital on August 9.

The court in its order, dictated on September 25, said it appears from the case diary that the process of investigation by the central probe agency is in full swing.

Denying the bail prayer of Ghosh, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate S Dey observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation is grave and if proved, it may attract capital punishment, which is handed in the rarest of rare cases.

The judge said the court is of the opinion that “it would be injustice flouting the principle of equity to release the accused on bail”.

He said in the order that a person may commit an offence with the help of other/s, and there is no need to be present for the other accused at the place of occurrence.

The court also rejected the bail prayer of Abhijit Mondal.

It granted the CBI’s prayer for judicial custody of the two accused till September 30.

Ghosh’s counsel claimed before the judge at Sealdah Court here that he was falsely implicated in the case and there was no act on his part to commit the crime as alleged.

The postgraduate trainee’s body was found with severe injuries in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Hospital on August 9. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, tried to downplay the 31-year-old doctor’s rape-murder as an incident of suicide and this may have led to the destruction of evidence, probe agency CBI has told a Kolkata court.

Dr Ghosh, earlier arrested in a case of financial irregularities at the state-run hospital, now faces a charge of tampering with evidence in the heinous case that has shocked the nation. Abhijit Mondal, officer-in-charge of Tala Police Station, has also been arrested in this case.

According to the CBI’s remand note submitted in court yesterday, Dr Ghosh got information about the incident at 9.58 am on August 9, but did not reach the hospital immediately and did not register a formal complaint with the police. The CBI’s note says a “new theory of suicide” was introduced despite external injury marks on the victim’s body. The doctors’ parents have also said a phone call from the hospital told them that their daughter had died by suicide.

The CBI has said that Dr Ghosh was in touch with the police officer and an advocate after the victim was found raped and murdered. The former principal did not even meet the victim’s parents when they came to the hospital to find their daughter raped and murdered. Dr Ghosh failed to ensure the timely completion of medical formalities after the incident and asked subordinates to send the body to the morgue immediately, the CBI told the court.

In its remand note against the police officer, the CBI said that Mr Mondal got information after the heinous crime at 10.03 am, but reached the hospital an hour later.

The first General Diary Entry, CBI has said, mentioned that the “body of PG trainee of R G Kar MCH was found lying in unconscious state” even after the body was examined and the victim found dead. The agency said the police officer failed to ensure timely registration of the FIR despite the heinous nature of the crime.

The officer, the CBI said, failed to cordon off the crime scene. This led to unauthorised people entering the crime scene and led to damage of vital evidence, it has said. The agency has also held him responsible for the delay in the issue of the death certificate and autopsy.

The CBI underlined that the police officer received information about the case at 10.03 am, but the FIR was filed late at night — an issue that has been repeatedly flagged in the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court.

The officer, the CBI said, hurriedly allowed the body’s cremation despite the family members specifically demanding a second autopsy. The agency has said that the police officer started the investigation with an attempt to vitiate evidence and remained evasive when the CBI questioned him.

The Kolkata court yesterday granted the CBI two days’ custody of Dr Ghosh and Mr Mondal. The matter will be heard tomorrow.

Mr Mondal’s lawyer said there was no ground to arrest the police officer. “They allege there was a delay. They don’t say whether I am an accused or a witness. There is no ground for arrest here. This is at best a case of alleged dereliction of duty. For that, a departmental inquiry could have been done.”

Dr Ghosh and Mr Mondal are the CBI’s first arrests in the rape-murder case. They are accused of being a part of an alleged cover-up by the hospital administration after the doctor was found raped and murdered. Earlier, the Kolkata police arrested Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer who frequented the hospital, for allegedly raping and murdering the doctor. Roy’s custody was handed over to the CBI after the central agency took over the probe after a high court order.

Kolkata:

Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, spoke to Tala Police station’s officer-in-charge Abhijit Mondal in the hours after a 31-year-old doctor was found dead on the hospital premises, and there may be a nexus and that needs to be uncovered, CBI told a Kolkata court today.

The central agency last night arrested Mr Mondal under charges of tampering with evidence in the rape-murder case that has shaken the country. Dr Ghosh, arrested earlier in a financial irregularities case, also faces the evidence tampering charge now.

The two were produced in court today and were remanded in CBI’s custody for two days. The case will be heard next on September 17.

“The FIR was registered at night. We have call records that show communication between the OC and Sandip Ghosh. There may be a nexus and we need to uncover the case. We want to confront both of them,” the CBI’s counsel told the court.

“There is no clash between CBI and police. We want to get to the truth. For us he is not a police officer, he is a suspect,” the counsel added.

Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court have questioned the delay in the registration of the FIR, which was filed over 14 hours after the doctor’s body was found. The courts have asked why the hospital administration then led by Dr Ghosh did not register a police complaint that would have ensured the filing of an FIR.

“He was under an obligation to register to FIR. They tried to downplay it as suicide. There was a lapse on his part. It was a case of sexual assault and he should have handled it cautiously. He was in a conspiracy with other people,” the CBI told the court today.

The lawyer for Mr Mondal replied, “They allege there was a delay. They don’t say whether I am an accused or a witness. There is no ground for arrest here. This is at best a case of alleged dereliction of duty. For that, a departmental inquiry could have been done.”

The CBI told the court that Mr Mondal is not an accused in the rape and murder, but may have played a role in a larger conspiracy of an alleged cover-up.

These are the CBI’s first two arrests in the rape and murder case over their month-long investigation. Earlier, Kolkata Police arrested civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy in the case. The CBI took Roy’s custody after the high court transferred the probe to the central agency.

The Trinamool, under fire over the rape-murder incident, has been questioning what progress the CBI has made since it took over.

Kolkata:

The former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and the station house officer (SHO) who initially investigated the rape and murder of a trainee doctor have been arrested by the CBI for allegedly misleading investigators and trying to hide evidence.

With their actions, the former principal Sandip Ghosh and the police officer allegedly tried to sabotage the investigation into the rape and murder case, which had sparked outrage across the nation.

The arrests came hours after protesting doctors returned from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s house without meeting her after she denied their request to live-stream the meeting.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been questioning Sandip Ghosh over alleged financial irregularities, has added rape and murder charges against him.

The trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9. The key suspect, Sanjay Roy, was seen on CCTV during investigation after the trainee doctor’s body was found. The CBI has already conducted a polygraph test on Sanjay Roy, but could not conduct a narco analysis test after he did not give consent, which is needed as per the law.

The CBI took over the case from the Kolkata Police on the Calcutta High Court’s order.

Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer at the hospital, had gone to the red light area Sonagachi on August 8 night. There, he drank alcohol and visited two brothels one after another, sources had said. He then went to the hospital after midnight. He was arrested based on CCTV footage in which he was seen entering and leaving the seminar hall.

The CBI had also questioned Anup Dutta, an assistant sub-inspector and member of the city police welfare board. Mr Dutta’s proximity to Sanjay Roy was suspected to have led CBI officers to understand how Sanjay Roy could have had free access to police barracks where he stayed, and within an institution like RG Kar where he could move around freely at all times of the day.

Earlier today, Ms Banerjee did not allow the protesting doctors’ demand for live-stream of their meeting, citing the RG Kar Medical College case is being heard in the Supreme Court.

“I am requesting, please come and talk as you had requested for today’s meeting. At least come and have tea with me. Why are you disrespecting me? I keep waiting, but it seems you don’t want to meet. Forget politics for now… I will sign the minutes of the meeting, but there will be no live-streaming. It can happen only after Supreme Court permission,” Ms Banerjee said.

Kolkata:

Three flats, two houses and a farmhouse in Kolkata and another flat in Murshidabad — multiple properties belonging to Dr Sandip Ghosh, former Principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and his wife Sangeeta are under the scanner in the corruption probe against him.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is examining documents linked to these assets and digital devices as part of its investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the hospital, which came into focus in the aftermath of a 31-year-old doctor’s rape and murder on August 9.

The central agency suspects that Dr Ghosh and his wife bought these properties with proceeds of crime. “These documents related to properties were seized based on the prima facie suspicion that those properties were purchased out of Proceeds of Crime,” ED has said.

The ED has found that Sangeeta Ghosh bought two properties without proper approval from West Bengal government and was later granted a post facto approval by none other than Dr Sandip Ghosh, her senior at work during that time.

“During the search, it was unravelled that Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh w/o Dr Sandip Ghosh, had purchased two immovable properties without any proper approval from the State Government Authorities. Interestingly, a post facto approval was granted to Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh to purchase the property by Dr. Sandip Ghosh in year 2021. During this period, Dr.

Sandip Ghosh was posted in capacity of Principal of R. G. Kar Medical College and Dr. Sangeeta Ghosh was posted there as an Assistant Professor,” the ED has said.

The ED on Friday searched seven premises belonging to Dr Ghosh, his close relatives and associates. The investigation is being carried out in a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED’s case is based on an FIR registered by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Dr Ghosh has come under the scanner for the state-run hospital’s response to the doctor’s rape and murder of its premises. The Mamata Banerjee government’s move to name him the principal of a medical college hours after he stepped down from the top post of RG Kar Medical College had raised eyebrows. Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court questioned why the hospital administration under Dr Ghosh did not register a police complaint after the doctor’s body was found.

Amid the outrage over the shocking incident, allegations of large-scale corruption in the hospital emerged. A former colleague of Dr Ghosh approached the high court, accusing him of corruption. The court then handed over the case to the CBI, which is also probing the rape-murder.

Kolkata:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing allegations of financial irregularities at the state-run R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has traced ‘questionable’ properties purchased by the controversial former principal of the institute, Sandip Ghosh, and his wife Sangeeta Ghosh.

According to a statement issued by the probe agency on Tuesday, on September 6, the ED conducted search operations at seven premises, including the residences of Sandip Ghosh, his close relatives and associates, in connection with misappropriation of funds at R.G. Kar Medical College, which has been in the news ever since the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor on the hospital premises last month.

As per the statement, during the search operations at Mr Ghosh’s residence, the ED “seized various incriminating documents, documents related to properties acquired by Sandip Ghosh and his wife Sangeeta Ghosh, and digital devices”.

During the search, it was unravelled that Sangeeta Ghosh had purchased two immovable properties without proper approval from the concerned authorities.

ED officials are investigating the angle of assets disproportionate to income belonging to both Ghosh and his wife, including two residential flats close to R.G Kar, one residential flat in Murshidabad, and one luxurious multi-room farmhouse-cum-bungalow in South 24 Parganas district.

Some of these properties were purchased during the period when Sandip Ghosh was the principal of R.G Kar Medical College.

Both ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are conducting parallel investigations into the case of financial irregularities at R.G Kar.

While, CBI’s is a court-monitored probe, ED has taken suo motu cognisance of the case by registering an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).

The ED officials have already traced the involvement of multiple shell entities that were used to unethically bag tender-awards for supply of medical equipment or work-orders for infrastructure maintenance work at RG Kar, all during the period when Sandip Ghosh was at the helm of its affairs.

Meanwhile, a special court in Kolkata on Tuesday sent Sandip Ghosh and three others to judicial custody till September 23 for their alleged involvement in the financial scam at R.G. Kar.

The three others sent to judicial custody are Afsar Ali, Suman Hazra, and Biplab Sinha. While Ali is the personal bodyguard of Mr Ghosh, Mr Sinha and Mr Hazra are vendors who supplied medical equipment to R.G. Kar when Mr Ghosh was its principal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

In another setback for Sandip Ghosh, who was the principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital when a trainee doctor was raped and murdered there last month, a special CBI court has sent him to judicial custody till September 23. Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 in a case of alleged financial irregularities at the hospital, and has been in the agency’s custody since then.

The Calcutta High Court had ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital, where Ghosh had been the principal since 2021 – with a brief hiatus in between – from a special investigation team of the Kolkata Police to the CBI on August 23. The order had come after a former deputy superintendent of the facility, Dr Akhtar Ali, had sought an investigation. 

Mr Ali had accused Sandip Ghosh of involvement in the illegal sale of unclaimed corpses, trafficking of biomedical waste, and issuing tenders to select medicine and medical equipment suppliers in exchange for commission. He had also alleged that students were pressured to pay amounts running into lakhs of rupees to pass exams. 

Ghosh was arrested by the CBI after being questioned several times in a span of two weeks. Three other people – vendors Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara, and Afsar Ali, a security guard – were also taken into custody.

After Ghosh was sent to the CBI’s custody for eight days a day after his arrest, he was suspended by the West Bengal government, which has been under fire over its handling of the rape and murder case and a posting given to the former RG Kar principal after he resigned following the crime.

On Tuesday, Ghosh, Afsar Ali, Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara were sent to judicial custody by the special CBI court in Kolkata’s Alipore till September 23.

Protests Continue

On Friday, the Supreme Court had also dismissed Ghosh’s petition challenging the Calcutta High Court order transferring the investigation into the irregularities to the CBI. He had also sought the removal of certain comments made by the high court, and the Supreme Court said no to that as well.

Kolkata and several other places have seen continued protests over the rape and murder of the trainee doctor in the hospital on August 9. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also found herself being attacked by the BJP and other parties and criticised by the victim’s parents after she asked people to return to ‘pujo’ celebrations, referring to the the upcoming Durga Puja festival. 

“It has been a month (since the August 9 incident). I request you return to pujo, return to the festivities and ask the CBI to ensure justice as soon as possible,” she said on Monday. 

Reacting to the comments, the victim’s parents told news agency PTI, “We celebrated Durga Puja with our daughter, we will not celebrate Durga Puja or any other festival for years to come. Her remarks are insensitive.”

BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari accused the Trinamool Congress chief of treating people like puppets. “(Do you think) they will stand, sit, celebrate and stop protests when you ask them to? The pujo fortnight has not started yet, the demon is yet to be slayed. Be patient, the Mother’s power has awakened, it will cleanse Bengal,” he wrote in a post on X. 

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will today hear the case related to the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will oversee the proceedings.

On Sunday night, thousands gathered in Kolkata and across the globe, demanding justice for the victim. These demonstrations were part of a larger wave of protests, organised under the banner of “Reclaim the Night,” a movement calling for safety and justice for women in public spaces.

Supreme Court’s Earlier Hearing

The Supreme Court on August 20 termed the incident “horrific” and took additional measures to address safety concerns within the healthcare sector. The court issued several directives, including the formation of a 10-member National Task Force to develop protocols for ensuring the safety of doctors and healthcare workers across the country.

The court called upon protesting doctors who had been striking in solidarity with the victim to return to work, stating that “justice and medicine cannot be stopped.” 

The case initially faced delays, with the Supreme Court, during its hearing on August 22, criticising the Kolkata Police for their sluggish handling of the investigation. It was not until August 13 that the Calcutta High Court intervened, transferring the investigation from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI began its probe the following day, August 14.

The victim’s body was discovered in a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9, bearing severe injuries. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day in connection with the crime, but the investigation has since widened, resulting in the arrest of the college’s former principal as well.

Protests Worldwide 

From the streets of Kolkata to the cities of Europe, Asia, and the United States, the global Indian community rallied for justice Sunday night. Over 130 protests took place in 25 countries, including major cities like Stockholm, Sydney, and New York. Protesters – many clad in black -held vigils, sang in Bengali, and chanted slogans in solidarity with the victim.

The streets of Kolkata were transformed into protest sites as men and women, young and old, took to the streets to demand justice. From forming human chains to holding burning torches, protesters expressed their anger and sorrow for the victim, who they symbolically named “Tilottama” or “Abhaya.” 

“Whenever I think about the torment, the pain experienced by my daughter on that night, I shudder. She had dreams to serve society. Now, all these protesters are my children,” the victim’s mother said at a rally in Kolkata, as quoted by news agency PTI.

A 14-kilometre-long human chain stretching from Shyambazar in North Kolkata to the suburb of Sodepur was also organised. Thousands of citizens, including rival football fans from East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, and Mohammedan Sporting, stood shoulder to shoulder, united in their call for justice.

Centre vs State 

Amid the protests, a political clash has emerged between the Centre and the West Bengal government, with the former accusing the state of “unpardonable” non-cooperation in extending logistical support to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was tasked with providing security at RG Kar Medical College. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in its application to the Supreme Court, has called the lack of cooperation from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government “symptomatic of a systemic malaise.”

The Centre has urged the top court to direct the West Bengal government to fully cooperate with the CISF, failing which it has requested contempt proceedings against the officials responsible for non-compliance