Dr. Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been surrounded by many controversies in relation to the rape-murder case of the postgraduate trainee doctor.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) brought Ghosh in for questioning on Friday. He is being questioned at the CGO complex in Salt Lake, according to The Telegraph Online. Even after the CBI had issued multiple summonses, Ghosh had consistently avoided being questioned. He chose not to respond to another notice last night, instead requesting protection from the high court via his legal representation, stating that he feared for his life.
The court reacted to Ghosh's attorney's claims that his home would be set on fire by saying, "Let him rest at home. The state is with you; they will provide 4-500 police personnel. Or, you can file an application, and we will give you central forces,” as quoted by The Telegraph Online.
Earlier, following huge protests, Ghosh resigned from the principal's post. The West Bengal government appointed him as the principal of Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) soon after he resigned. However, Ghosh is also under fire for allegedly trying to write the case off as a suicide. Junior doctors at the CNMCH were upset when Ghosh was named principal, and they locked the principal's office doors, according to multiple media reports.
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The Calcutta High Court then mandated on Tuesday that Ghosh take an extended leave of absence.
Sandip Ghosh Joined RG Kar In 2021
Notably, since he took over as principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in 2021, he has been in the news on multiple occasions.
According to The Wire, a number of medical professionals and students have accused Dr. Ghosh, who is well-known for his close ties to the ruling TMC, of using threats and intimidation to control the hospital as if it were his "personal fiefdom."
A few months after Ghosh started attending the college, according to News 18, a hunger strike was held in front of his office to express disapproval of the administration's refusal to establish separate student and residence hall councils.
Work Background
He was formerly employed by Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC) as a vice principal. He is apparently a surgeon and professor of orthopaedics.
NDTV claims that even though he was moved to Murshidabad Medical College in June 2023, he locked the principal's chamber and prevented his replacement from taking over. Within 48 hours, he was given a promotion.
He was moved once more in September 2023 in response to an incident involving ragging in the boys' hostel; however, students connected to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) blocked the newly appointed principal from taking over for five days. In less than a month, Ghosh was back at the RG Kar. This came after a hospital deputy superintendent transferred him after accusing him of being a racketeer, according to the NDTV report.
After his recent appointment as the principal of CNMC, students at CNMC staged a sitting protest in front of the principal's room on Tuesday in protest of Dr. Ghosh's transfer. The students locked the principal's room. "We do not wish to turn CNMC into another RG Kar Medical College. We will not allow Ghosh to be the principal," a protestor told the Indian Express.
On August 13, the Calcutta High Court disapproved of his prompt reappointment at the Calcutta National Medical College and ordered the government and relevant authorities to put him on an extended leave of absence.
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