The parents of the RG Kar rape-murder victim have criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Supreme Court granted bail to former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandeep Ghosh in a case concerning alleged financial irregularities at the Kolkata institution.
Ghosh, who was arrested in September 2024, was granted bail on October 15 after the Supreme Court noted that he had spent more than two years in custody and that only seven of the 147 witnesses had been examined in the case. The bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale allowed his appeal against the Calcutta High Court’s February 23 decision rejecting his bail plea.
The victim’s father said the family was unhappy with the pace of the CBI investigation and alleged that the agency had failed to conduct the case effectively. “The Supreme Court has already given its decision. The CBI is not doing their work properly… just taking dates in court and not doing the hearing. So after two years, the accused got bail,” he said.
He added that the family would continue its efforts to seek justice and would protest again if required. Referring to the investigation, he said the government should privatise the agency so that it would work properly. The remarks were made in the context of the family’s prolonged wait for progress in the cases linked to the death of their daughter.
Doctors who had participated in protests following the death also expressed concern over the bail order. Aniket Mahatoe, one of the prominent faces of the movement, called it a “very sad day” for those who had demonstrated for justice. He blamed the slow pace of the CBI investigation and said the state government had not shown sufficient promptness apart from suspending three IPS officers.
Dr Utpal Banerjee of the Association of Health Service Doctors said the CBI should be held accountable for the delay. He referred to allegations against Ghosh relating to financial irregularities and an alleged cover-up in the RG Kar case, while pointing to the Supreme Court’s observation that only seven witnesses had been examined out of 147.
The junior doctor’s body was found at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, 2024. Ghosh and Abhijit Mondol, the former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, were granted bail in the rape-murder case in December 2024 after the CBI failed to submit a chargesheet within the required 90-day period. Ghosh, however, remained in custody in the separate financial irregularities case until the Supreme Court’s latest order.
The court’s observation on witness examination has placed the pace of the proceedings at the centre of renewed public scrutiny. The CBI’s progress in the financial irregularities case, along with the family’s stated plans to continue pursuing justice, will now remain the next major focus.
