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An old personalised letter written by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2022 to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Dr Sandip Ghosh on his birthday has been exclusively accessed by India Today. The BJP said it indicated Dr Ghosh, under scrutiny over the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital, had a close rapport with the Chief Minister.
Sources said Dr Ghosh was part of a small group of personalities to whom the Chief Minister used to send personalised letters on their birthdays as a goodwill gesture.
The fact that Dr Ghosh's name was part of the list shows that he is well-connected to the administration and the ruling Trinamool Congress.
BJP leader and spokesperson Priyanka Tibrewal said it was not a secret that Dr Sandip Ghosh, who has faced marathon questioning by the CBI in the case, enjoyed the privilege of being in the good books of Mamata Banerjee.
"This is the reason that when a special committee was formed to find out irregularities at RG Kar Hospital after a vigilance report, Dr Sandip Ghosh was not removed. He was still intact in the college," Tibrewal said.
Earlier this month, Sandip Ghosh resigned as principal of RG Kar Hospital amid nationwide outrage over the brutal rape and murder of the 31-year-old trainee doctor. However, he was swiftly given a plum posting as the head of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, much to the chagrin of the protesters.
The Calcutta High Court took a stern view of the transfer and sent Dr Ghosh on indefinite leave. The Bengal government subsequently revoked the transfer order of Dr Sandip Ghosh.
In what may spell further trouble for Dr Ghosh, the High Court on Friday ordered the transfer of the investigation into alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Hospital from a state-constituted SIT to the CBI. The decision followed a petition by former deputy superintendent of RG Kar, Akhtar Ali.
Earlier this week, Ali, in an interview with India Today, claimed Dr Ghosh was involved in several illegal activities, including the selling of unclaimed bodies.
The Supreme Court, which took suo moto cognisance of the case, also pulled up the former principal for the delay in filing an FIR over the incident.
"Who was in touch with the principal of RG Kar Medical College? Why did he delay the FIR? What was the purpose?" the court asked while pulling up the Bengal government.
