23 hours & counting: RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s ex-principal faces CBI heat | Kolkata News

KOLKATA: CBI questioning of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital’s former principal, Sandip Ghosh, which started on Friday afternoon, continued on Saturday, with only a short break, when Ghosh was allowed to go home. This is the longest interrogation session by CBI in any case in Bengal in the recent past.
The marathon questioning – 23 hours and counting (till reports last came in) – began a day after CBI, led by joint director V Chandrasekhar, spoke to the parents of the deceased 31-year-old PG trainee doctor at their Sodepur residence.The parents have alleged that their daughter “was under mental pressure and was reluctant to go to work”, and that the hospital had tried to pass off the rape-murder as suicide.
Ghosh was allowed to go home for a short while at 2:30am. On Saturday, he was back at the probe agency’s CGO complex office with several files in hand.
Before going inside, a visibly tired and shaken Ghosh told media: “CBI has not arrested me… Please don’t spread false information. I have not been made to sit face-to-face with Sanjay (prime accused Sanjay Roy). They have questioned me. The matter is under investigation, and I cannot say anything more at this stage.”
As per sources, CBI’s special crime unit has bombarded Ghosh with a barrage of questions, including when he learnt of the doctor’s death, who informed him and what steps he took on receiving the news. The former principal has claimed he is in no way linked to the death.
On Friday, the investigating officers had questioned seven hospital staffers, including nurses, ward boys and security guards. Each of them was asked what exactly they were first told about the doctor’s death. Sources said the specific question was asked to get to the bottom of the suicide theory initially floated. The sleuths also quizzed Ghosh’s former colleagues – head of the chest department Arunava Dutta Chowdhury and former superintendent of the institute Sanjay Vashisth.
The investigators are trying to piece together the sequence of events that led to the doctor’s murder, and have recorded statements of more than 32 witnesses so far. On Saturday morning, a close friend of the victim also appeared before the investigators. CBI officers are now corroborating Ghosh’s statement with those of the others.
On Thursday, victim’s parents told CBI they suspected arrested accused Sanjay Roy was not main culprit and was acting at the behest of others. They said they were convinced it was a case of gang rape, and alleged a deliberate cover-up attempt by the hospital authorities.