Kolkata rape & murder: How Dr Sandip Ghosh, the ex-principal of RG Kar Medical College, keeps getting hired

The brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in West Bengal’s Kolkata has sent shockwaves across India. The tragic incident has once again put the spotlight on women’s safety in the country.

Doctors across India have held protests to denounce the killing of the medic at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The case is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government is facing questions over the incident. The ex-principal of RG Kar, Dr Sandip Ghosh, is also under fire for allegedly trying to brush off the case as a suicide.

On Tuesday (August 13), the Calcutta High Court rapped the former principal, saying it was “disheartening” that he was not “proactive”. The court has asked Dr Ghosh to “go on long leave”.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who is Dr Sandip Ghosh?

Dr Ghosh is facing flak over his handling of the gruesome rape and murder case in Kolkata’s RG Kar last week.

An orthopaedic professor, he is not new to controversies. Dr Ghosh became the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in mid-2021. He previously worked as vice principal at Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC).

As per a News18 report, over 350 students at RG Kar protested against the college authorities’ hesitance to create two separate councils for students and hostels. They had held a hunger strike outside Dr Ghosh’s office, months after his joining.

Known for his close ties to the ruling TMC, Dr Ghosh has been accused by many doctors and students of running the hospital like his “personal fiefdom through threats and intimidation,” reported The Wire. He has faced charges of corruption and irregularities, leading to his transfer twice. But he was quickly reinstated.

Last May, Dr Ghosh was transferred to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital. However, he locked the principal’s room, preventing his successor from taking over, as per The Wire. The health department revoked Dr Ghosh’s transfer within 48 hours.

In September 2023, he was again transferred to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital from RG Kar Medical College, only to be reportedly reinstated within a month. This had come after a ragging incident in the college’s Manicktala Main Boys Hostel, wherein trainee doctors close to Dr Ghosh were under the scanner, reported Indian Express.

When the new principal, Dr Manas Kumar Bandopadhyay, reached the RG Kar College and Hospital, students protested and demanded Dr Ghosh’s return. Some doctors had alleged that these protests were “engineered” by “certain lobbies”, as per News18.

“Dr Sandip Ghosh is extremely vindictive. He uses his political clout to terrorise students and threatens us with dire consequences if we don’t toe his line. Many students have failed after raising their voices against him,” an intern told The Wire on the condition of anonymity.

Why is Dr Ghosh under fire?

Dr Ghosh came under the line of fire after the rape and murder case came to light. The then principal of RG Kar had initially allegedly dismissed the case as suicide, saying “it was irresponsible of the girl to go to the seminar hall alone at night.”

Last Thursday, the trainee doctor went to the seminar hall of the pulmonology department for a quick rest during her 36-hour shift. Her half-naked body was discovered the next morning by junior colleagues.

The post-mortem report has revealed several injuries over the doctor’s body, including in her eyes, mouth, genitals, left leg, neck, right hand, ring finger and lips, reported NDTV.

After a huge outrage erupted, the Kolkata Police registered a case of rape and murder, arresting the primary suspect Sanjay Roy , a civic volunteer, in connection with the crimes.

Dr Ghosh has been under immense pressure as the uproar grew and allegations of mismanagement and financial irregularities against him surfaced, reported Indian Express.

He eventually “resigned” on Monday. “The sole demand of people of the state was my resignation. So I am resigning willingly and not under any pressure… I am being defamed on social media. Some people are spreading false accusations against me. Students are being provoked to seek my removal. The deceased doctor was like my child, and I want the guilty to be punished. As a parent, I am resigning,” Dr Ghosh told reporters.

However, the West Bengal government did not accept his resignation and, instead, transferred him to Calcutta National Medical College, as per The Wire.

On Tuesday, students of the CNMC demonstrated against Dr Ghosh’s transfer, locking the principal’s room and staging a sitting protest in front of it. “We don’t want to make CNMC another RG Kar Medical College. We will not allow Ghosh to be the principal,” one of the protesters said, as per Indian Express.

The Calcutta High Court intervened in the case on Tuesday, transferring it to the CBI. It also came down heavily on Dr Ghosh.

“The principal of the institution either by himself or by issuing appropriate directions could have lodged a complaint with the police since the death occurred within the hospital premises. This, in our view, was a clear dereliction of duty on the part of the principal and the officers under his command and this has led to various repercussions and it has been admitted by the authorities that the situation became chaotic and Rapid Action Force had to be brought in," the court observed, according to the NDTV report.

The High Court also pulled up the Bengal government over the swift reinstatement of Dr Ghosh. “It is difficult to comprehend as to why when a person submits his resignation, the concerned authority of the State did not exercise the two options, which are available i.e. either to accept the resignation or to refuse to accept the resignation.”

The court then asked Dr Ghosh to go on leave, stating he would not be allowed to assume office at CNMC until further directions.