In an unexpected move, Suhrita Paul, the newly appointed principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has been removed from her position following government action prompted by a delegation of students meeting with officials at Swasthya Bhavan. The decision came after medical students held a protest march from the CGO Complex (CBI office) to Swasthya Bhavan, demanding the principal’s removal.
The development comes amid the newly-appointed medical superintendent-cum-vice principal (MSVP) at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Bulbul Mukhopadhyay, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) office in the case of rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital.
The CBI officers were already interrogating the controversial former principal of R.G. Kar, Sandip Ghosh, in connection with the case.
Mukhopadhyay was promoted to the role of medical superintendent-cum-vice principal at R.G. Kar Medical College on August 11, replacing Sanjay Vashisth, just two days after a junior doctor’s body was discovered in the hospital’s seminar room on the morning of August 9. Mukhopadhyay also led the internal probe committee formed by the hospital to investigate the rape and murder case. Sources indicate that she is likely being questioned by the central agency regarding the findings of this internal investigation.
Meanwhile, Sandip Ghosh, who was summoned by Kolkata Police to appear at the police headquarters by noon on Wednesday, was unable to do so as he has been under CBI questioning since 9 a.m. The police had called him for questioning due to his disclosure of the victim’s identity during a media briefing about the incident. This marks the sixth consecutive day Ghosh has been questioned by the CBI, with sessions lasting 12-14 hours daily since last Friday.
Earlier in the day, a PIL was filed at the Calcutta High Court demanding a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar when Ghosh was its principal. The petition came after the West Bengal government earlier this week announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by an IG-rank officer to probe the allegations of financial irregularities at the hospital when Ghosh was the principal.
