A special CBI court has formally framed charges against former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali and businessman Shashikanta Chandak in the financial corruption case linked to the state-run hospital, with trial proceedings set to begin on June 12. BJP Bengal shared the development, calling for exemplary punishment.

The development marks a significant escalation in one of the most closely watched corruption cases to emerge from the broader RG Kar saga that gripped West Bengal following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor inside the hospital’s seminar room on August 9, 2024.

The RG Kar case: Background

RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s former principal Sandip Ghosh is accused of financial irregularities during his tenure and was arrested by the CBI in connection with both the corruption probe and a money laundering investigation. The prime accused in the rape and murder case is Sanjay Roy, while the CBI also arrested former Tala police station OC Abhijit Mondal in the money laundering and financial irregularities case.

Akhtar Ali: From whistleblower to accused

The investigation revealed that then principal Sandip Ghosh and then Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali were initially involved in the corruption. Notably, Akhtar Ali was the first to raise corruption allegations against Sandip Ghosh, yet his name appears in the final chargesheet as an accused.

The chargesheet details that Akhtar Ali conspired with arrested vendors Biplab Singh and Suman Hazra, along with co-accused Shashikanta Chandak, to carry out financial irregularities. Chandak has also been charged with forging signatures, while Ali’s actions are described as having been carried out with his hand inside the gloves of former principal Sandip Ghosh.

The CBI has also indicated the role of two unnamed MLAs in forwarding an application for securing a five-year café contract at RG Kar, which allegedly contained a forged signature.

Chandak’s role

According to the CBI’s final chargesheet, Shashikanta Chandak forged most of the signatures in the corruption scheme, helping Sandip Ghosh and Akhtar Ali secure contracts for associates at the hospital, including parking lots and cafés. CBI investigators had the signatures verified by forensic experts to confirm Chandak’s involvement.

Earlier accused

The CBI had earlier filed a chargesheet against Sandip Ghosh, Biplab Singh, Suman Hazra, Afsar Ali Khan, and Ashish Pandey in the corruption case. All of them were arrested in the investigation.

BJP Bengal, sharing the court’s charge-framing order, called for no protection for the corrupt and demanded exemplary punishment as the only acceptable outcome from the trial that begins June 12.