Alipore court has ordered the immediate arrest of Akhtar Ali, former Deputy Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, in connection with the corruption case linked to the institution. The court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Ali after he repeatedly failed to appear despite summons.
According to sources, Akhtar Ali informed the court that he was unwell and admitted to a nursing home. However, the court observed that he was deliberately avoiding appearance.
Chargesheets filed
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet in the RG Kar Medical College corruption case before its special court at Bankshall. The chargesheet names former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, along with his associates Biplab Singh and Suman Hazra. Singh and Hazra are owners of firms supplying equipment to the hospital. The ED chargesheet also mentions Hazra Medical Store.
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All three accused named in the chargesheet have already been arrested on corruption charges and are currently in judicial custody.
Case background
On August 9, 2024, a shocking incident of rape and murder of a woman doctor took place at RG Kar Hospital. Her body was recovered from the seminar hall on the fourth floor of the emergency building. The incident triggered nationwide outrage and protests.
Following the incident, allegations of large-scale corruption at RG Kar Medical College surfaced. Former principal Sandip Ghosh was accused of financial irregularities. Akhtar Ali, then Deputy Superintendent of the hospital, approached the Calcutta High Court with corruption allegations against the hospital administration.
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Akhtar Ali, then deputy superintendent of RG Kar Medical College Hospital, was the first to file a complaint of financial misappropriation against Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar and the main accused in the RG Kar corruption case, to the Vigilance Commission in 2023. He was later transferred elsewhere. While serving as deputy superintendent of Kaliaganj Super Speciality Hospital in North Dinajpur, he resigned some days ago, but his resignation letter has not been accepted, according to administrative sources. The health department has started taking action against him.
Although Akhtar Ali's lawyer claimed his client to be a 'whistle blower' against corruption in the High Court, the court did not give recognition to this.
But how did Akhtar Ali, who first raised allegations against former principal Sandip Ghosh regarding RG Kar corruption, himself get trapped in this corruption case? The central investigating agency, CBI, alleges that Akhtar benefited financially through corruption in the name of various tenders. Even the CBI claims that the money from that corruption entered Akhtar's wife's bank account. Businessman Shashikanta Chandak had helped Akhtar in creating fake documents. He has already received bail in this case.
