Taking a dig at the West Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked why a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted by the government a year after allegations of financial irregularities at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital first emerged.

The State government earlier this week formed the four-member SIT to investigate the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run hospital, where the body of a junior doctor was found on August 9.

After the formation of the SIT, the Kolkata Police began an investigation against the hospital’s former principal Sandip Ghosh for his alleged involvement in “financial irregularities” at the medical facility.

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by a former deputy superintendent of the hospital, Akhtar Ali, who moved court seeking an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Sandip Ghosh over alleged financial irregularities during his tenure there.

Ali claimed that he had reported Ghosh’s alleged financial irregularities to the State authorities last year.

Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, who was presiding over the case, asked why the SIT was constituted a year after the allegations came to light. The matter will be heard again on Friday.

Notably, the SIT was constituted by the Mamata Banerjee-led state government at a time when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting its probe into the alleged rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor.

CM writes to PM

Amid countrywide protests over the rape and murder of the on-duty woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding “stringent central legislation” with “exemplary punishment” for perpetrators of rape.

“According to the available data, it is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rape occur daily throughout the country. This shakes the confidence and conscience of the society and the nation. It is bounden duty of all of us to put an end to it so that the women feel safe and secure,” Banerjee wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister.

Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress supremo, also proposed establishment of fast-track special courts for speedy trials in these cases. “To ensure quick justice, trials should preferably be completed within 15 days,” she added.

In Kolkata, scuffles broke out on Thursday between police personnel and BJP supporters during a march to protest against the rape and murder of the woman doctor.

The state BJP had earlier announced that its leaders would gherao ‘Swasthya Bhawan’, the headquarters of the state Health Department. The rally was led by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

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