ED raids houses of RG Kar ex-principal, aides, detains one

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday detained Prasun Chattopadhyay, a data entry operator at the Calcutta National Medical College and a known associate of arrested ex-RG Kar hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the latter institution, an officer said.

Chattopadhyay was seen being taken out of his residence at Subhasgram in South 24 Parganas district around 2 pm by ED officials, who previously conducted search operations at the premises for over seven hours.

He was then taken to Madhya Narayanpur in Canning area of the district where Ghosh had allegedly built a multi-crore farm house-cum-bungalow over a two-bigha plot three years ago and which Ghosh, according to local eyewitnesses, frequented with his family members.

Chattopadhyay, who allegedly used to identify himself as "Ghosh's PA", was also spotted amid the crowd from the purported August 9 video at the RG Kar hospital seminar hall crime scene where the murdered trainee doctor's body was discovered.

The CNMC employee allegedly used sign attendance registers at his official place of work but spent his days with Ghosh's office in RG Kar.

"I have replied to all questions of the ED officers," Chattopadhyay told reporters while walking with the agency officials outside his residence.

Chattopadhyay denied he was arrested.

His neighbours, mostly women, came outside their homes and were heard shouting the 'We Want Justice' slogan even as he was escorted to the agency vehicle by central paramilitary jawans.

The ED raids were part of the multipronged and simultaneous search operations in at least nine locations in the city and its suburbs since early Friday morning in connection with the alleged financial misconduct at the RG Kar hospital during Ghosh's tenure as principal, the officer said.

Ghosh and three other associates were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the same case on September 3.

The ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report against Ghosh, which is analogous to a first information report in criminal cases.

Besides Subhasgram, raids were conducted at Ghosh's Beliaghata residence in east Kolkata and at dual apartments belonging to his relatives in Milan Palli area near Airport Gate number 2 in the northern fringes of the city.

In Beliaghata, ED was granted entry to Ghosh's house at 9.30 am after waiting for nearly three hours.

Ghosh's wife, who was not at home early morning, opened the locks for the central agency's team.

"The charges brought against my husband are false. His innocence will be proved in due time," she alleged.

ED officers also reached the residences of arrested medical equipment supplier Biplab Sinha and at the house of Kaushik Koley in the same neighbourhood in Sankrail, Howrah.

Koley worked as an accountant in Sinha's firm.

At Milan Palli, ED officials began search operations from around 11.30 am at two apartments owned and rented by Ghosh's sister-in-law Arpita Bera and her husband Pritin. Both doctors at government establishments, the Bera couple had rented a second apartment in the complex which Ghosh used to visit, a neighbour said.

An ED official was seen carrying a black trolley bag out of one of the apartments during the course of the raid.

Another team of ED officers reached the address of Ghosh's in-laws in Baidyabati in Hooghly around 7 am, and upon finding the property locked, moved to the residence of Kunal Roy in the neighbourhood, a private company employee operating in the medical sector.

The residence of Ankur Roy, owner of a laundromat, was also searched by the agency at Madurdaha area in the eastern fringes of Kolkata. Roy's name had, reportedly, cropped up during interrogation of the arrested suspects.

ED officials also searched the office of one Crescent Manufacturing Private Ltd on Camac Street in the central business district of Kolkata.

The company, involved in manufacturing and supply, reportedly had dealings with RG Kar hospital during Ghosh's tenure as principal.

On August 23, the Calcutta high court ordered the transfer of the investigation into the alleged financial irregularities at state-run hospital from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team to the CBI.

This decision followed a petition by Dr. Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the state-run RG Kar hospital, who sought an investigation by the ED into multiple allegations of financial misconduct during Ghosh's tenure.

Ghosh served as principal from February 2021 to September 2023.

He was briefly transferred from RG Kar in October 2023 but was reinstated within a month.

Ali had raised concerns that the corruption at RG Kar hospital might be linked to the doctor's death, suggesting that the victim was aware of the misconduct and might have threatened to expose it.