ED raids in Kolkata over alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Hospital
The ED, alongside the CBI, is conducting a parallel investigation of the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday morning conducted search operations in at least three locations in Kolkata and its surrounding areas in connection with the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, officials said.
Officials aware of the development said that raids were underway at Tala in north Kolkata and Chinar Park and Kalindi in North 24 Parganas.
“A search operation is going on since Thursday morning,” an official said.
According to people aware of the developments said that ED officials reached the ancestral house of Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the medical college, in Chinar Park while another team searched the house of one Chandan Louha, who shared close links with Dr Ghosh, in Tala.
Also Read:When Kolkata’s RG Kar hospital ex-principal Sandip Ghosh faced corruption charges in 2020
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also probing into the alleged irregularities, had earlier raided Louha’s residence on August 25.
A third team of the federal agency searched the office of a supplier of medical equipment at Kalindi.
This is the second time in the past one week that the ED conducted raids in connection with its probe into the alleged money laundering at RG Kar.
The ED had searched at least 10 locations on September 6.
The Calcutta high court on August 23 directed the CBI to probe into the alleged financial irregularities at the RG Kar College and Hospital during Ghosh’s three-year tenure as the principal between 2021 and 2024.
The CBI lodged a case against Ghosh and three firms a day later. CBI arrested Ghosh, his bodyguard, and two vendors this month after nearly 15 days of questioning. The CBI also conducted a polygraph test on Ghosh.
The ED last month booked Ghosh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).