Dr Sandeep Ghosh, the controversial former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, gave all the contracts of the institution to a cartel of firms owned by two individuals for which he charged 10-15% commission in cash, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed in its chargesheet filed last week, according to officials familiar with the development.
Alleged bribes worth around ₹70 lakh for a contract worth ₹6.89 crore were taken in cash and deposited in bank accounts posing as professional fees for rendering services to private clinics, the agency claimed. (PTI)The alleged bribe, worth approx ₹70 lakhs in total for the contract ₹6.89 crore was received in cash and deposited in bank accounts showing it as professional fees for rendering services to private clinics, the agency claimed.
Ghosh, according to the ED, was associated with four private clinics which he was not supposed to do as his designation in RG Cor was a “non-practicing” position.
The federal agency filed a chargesheet as part of a money-laundering probe into the finances of Ghosh, two vendors, Biplab Singha and Suman Hazra and a company, Hazra Medical, RG Kar Hospital and Medical College, which came to light days after the 31-year-old post-graduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered within 4 hours on August 20.
“Sandip Ghosh conspired with Biplap Singha and Suman Hazra to manipulate the procurement and tendering process of RG Kar Hospital. Once the purchase order was issued, Ghosh ensured that Singha and Hazra received all work orders exclusively. They formed a cartel of firms through which they would submit proxies and they would ensure that no documents were short, they would not ensure and the highest bidder would be a firm owned by the cartel members, ” said an ED officer, quoting details of the chargesheet
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“In the total amount provided in the contract ₹6.89 crores, he received illegal commission at the rate of 10-15%, amounting to approx ₹70 lakh which is the total proceeds of crime,” added the official, who did not wish to be named.
The agency claimed that it found that Ghosh had issued work and supply orders by “artificially splitting purchase proposals and authorized purchase of materials at grossly inflated and exorbitant prices”.
Detailing the bribes received by Ghosh, the agency claimed in its chargesheet, according to a second official, that Ghosh provided medical services at four private clinics. The cash received as commission from Singha and Hazra, the second officer said, was shown as professional fees in tax returns, the officer added on condition of anonymity.
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“These amounts were subsequently deposited in the bank accounts of Sandeep Ghosh, his wife Sangeeta Ghosh and transferred to the accounts of his wife and other family members under the guise of gifts,” the second officer said quoting the ED chargesheet.
The agency found that Ghosh and his wife bought a farmhouse called Tapti in South 24 Parganas in 2014. It has been treated as proceeds of crime and attached by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
After the doctor’s rape and murder, the CBI launched an investigation and later arrested Ghosh in September 2024 on charges of attempted murder as suicide and tampering with evidence. It also launched a parallel probe into his financial dealings, which pre-dated the rape and murder. In 2023, they requested to transfer him from the hospital, but he was soon reinstated. Ghosh was transferred after the rape and murder.
