RG Kar Hospital: CBI questions former principal, forensic expert

Two teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started interrogating separately the former principal of the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, Sandip Ghosh, and the demonstrator of the hospital's forensic medicine department, Debasish Som, since Monday morning, 26 August.

While Ghosh's interrogation is being conducted at the CBI office in the Central government office (CGO) complex in Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, the grilling of Som is taking place at the agency's Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata.

This means that Ghosh is being questioned in connection with the ghastly rape and murder of the junior doctor within the hospital premises last month since the CGO complex houses the office of the CBI's special crime unit, whose officers are probing the rape and murder case.

On the other hand, Som is being questioned in connection with the case of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar since Nizam Palace houses the office of CBI's economic offences wing, whose investigators are probing the case of financial anomalies.

Sources said that R.G. Kar's former medical superintendent and vice principal, Sanjay Vashisth, has also been summoned to CBI's Nizam Palace office on Monday.

On Sunday, 25 August, three teams of CBI officials conducted marathon raids and search operations at the residences of all three persons. In addition, Som was taken to Nizam Palace in the afternoon, where he was grilled for over four hours.

Sources said that the notice for an appearance on Monday was handed over to Vashisth on Sunday night itself at the end of the interrogation.

The main aim of the central agency officials, sources added, is to establish the links between the two cases, the first being that of rape and murder and the second being that of financial irregularities.

Already the representatives of the protesting medical fraternity, including senior and junior doctors, as well as medical students, have claimed that there are hidden facts behind the ghastly rape and murder of the junior doctor.

The protestors have claimed that the victim had to pay the price for becoming aware of some gory secrets about the hospital.