Horror in Calcutta: RG Kar director Sandip Ghosh “ordered urgent renovation after incident”

The West Bengal branch of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (September 5) claimed that the former principal of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the body of a young doctor was found, had ordered urgent renovation work near the crime scene. Bengal BJP leader Sukanta Mazumdar also released a letter purportedly signed by Sandip Ghosh approving the renovation work.

Mazumdar wrote on X: “The order, signed by Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College, is dated August 10, just a day after the victim's death. Despite allegations by colleagues and protesters of tampering at the crime scene, the police commissioner denied it.”

The alleged letter was sent to the chief engineers of several departments of the Kolkata PWD requesting them to repair the attached toilets.

“I would like to inform you that there are deficiencies in the doctors' quarters and separate attached toilets in various departments of RGKMC&H, Kolkata. You are hereby requested to take immediate action as per the demands of the junior doctors of RGKMC&H,” the alleged letter said.

The opposition BJP now claims that the renovation was ordered to tamper with the crime scene, suggesting the director's involvement in the tragic rape and murder case. These allegations are further substantiated by the fact that the hospital authorities initially tried to dismiss the incident as a suicide. Moreover, the victim's father had to wait for at least three hours before being allowed to see the body.

Previously, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the federal agency in charge of the investigation, had also claimed before the Supreme Court that the crime scene may have been “compromised”.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, also pointed out the delay in filing the FIR.

“As we entered the fifth day of the investigation, everything had changed, including the crime scene,” he said.

“The most shocking thing is that the first complaint was filed at 11.45 pm after the cremation. The parents were told it was suicide, then death, and then friends of the doctor at the hospital insisted on a video recording. They too suspected something was wrong,” Mehta said.

The CBI also blamed the hospital administration for its failure in handling the sensitive issue.

(With contributions from agencies)