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Ex-RG Kar principal awarded college’s contracts to cartel, got ₹70-L bribe: ED
Dr Sandip Ghosh gave all contracts of the institution to a cartel of firms owned by two individuals for which he charged 10-15% commission in cash, ED has claimed in its charge sheet filed last week.
Dr Sandip Ghosh, the controversial former principal of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College, gave all 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) has claimed in its charge sheet filed last week, according to officials familiar with the development.
The alleged bribes, worth around ₹70 lakh in total for contracts worth ₹6.89 crore, was received in cash and deposited in the bank accounts by showing it as professional fee for providing services at private clinics, the agency has claimed.
Ghosh, according to ED, was associated with four private clinics which he was not supposed to do as his designation in RG Kar was a “non-practicising” position.
The federal agency filed a charge sheet against Ghosh, two vendors, Biplab Singha and Suman Hazra, and a company, Hazra Medical, as part of its money laundering probe into the financial affairs of RG Kar hospital and medical college, which surfaced days after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old post-graduate trainee doctor inside the institution in the early hours of August 9, 2024.
“Sandip Ghosh conspired with Biplap Singha and Suman Hazra to manipulate the procurement and tendering process of RG Kar hospital. Once the procurement order was issued, Ghosh ensured that Singha and Hazra got all work orders exclusively. They had formed a cartel of firms through which they would submit proxy quotations, false documents and ensured that nobody else could bid. They also ensured the lowest and the highest bidders would be a firm owned by the cartel members,” said an ED officer, quoting details of the charge sheet.
“Out of the total contracts awarded amounting to ₹6.89 crore, he received illegal commission at the rate of 10-15%, amounting to approximately ₹70 lakh which is the total proceeds of crime,” the officer added, asking not to be named.
The agency claimed it has found that Ghosh issued work and supply orders by “artificially splitting purchase proposals and approved procurement of materials at grossly inflated and exorbitant prices”.
Elaborating on the bribes received by Ghosh, the agency has claimed in its charge sheet, according to a second officer, that Ghosh provided medical services to four private clinics. The cash received as commission from Singha and Hazra, the second officer said, was shown as professional fee in tax returns,this officer added on condition on anonymity.
“These amounts were subsequently deposited into the bank accounts of Sandip Ghosh, his wife Sangeeta Ghosh, and were also transferred to the accounts of his wife and other family members in the guise of gifts,” said the second officer, citing the ED charge sheet.
The agency has found that Ghosh and his wife bought a farmhouse named Tapti in South 24 Parganas in 2014. This has been treated as proceeds of crime and attached by ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Following the rape and murder of the doctor, CBI launched an investigation and later arrested Ghosh in September 2024 for allegedly trying to pass off the murder as a suicide and also destroying evidence. It also started a parallel investigation related to his financial dealings, which pre-date the rape and murder. In 2023, they prompted his transfer out of the hospital, but he was soon reinstated. Ghosh was transferred after the rape and murder.
