State to probe ‘irregularities’ in equipment procurement at RG Kar

Kolkata: The state Health department will investigate the standard and quality of various life-saving equipment procured and installed at RG Kar during the tenure of Sandip Ghosh as principal.

After several irregularities surfaced in the procurement of some equipment, the department will, now, conduct an independent probe and examine the quality of the machines.

A senior official of RG Kar said that all the information relating to the complaints has been submitted to the Swasthya Bhawan. The experts will submit a report to the Health department after examining the quality of the equipment.

After the CBI started a probe into the alleged irregularities in the procurement of various machinery and equipment during the tenure of Ghosh, several issues have cropped up. It was alleged that various life-saving machines, including the MRI machine, at the trauma care unit of the hospital and some medicines were procured flouting the standard protocols. The MRI machine was bought in 2022, as per the recommendations of trauma care doctors and the Rogi Kalyan Samiti of the hospital. Two senior doctors who were not members of the then tender committee played an important role in procuring some equipment, sources said.

Several shops established within the RG Kar Medical College premises, allegedly without proper licenses, are now under scrutiny by the health department.

In the college council meeting held in RG Kar on Thursday, discussions took place regarding the shops which were illegally set up when Ghosh was the principal. Notices will be served to these illegal shops within the next week, sources said. Meanwhile, the CBI has written to the state Health department, informing it that some RG Kar Medical College officials and doctors are being probed in the RG Kar case and sought to know what action has been taken against them.

A senior Health department official, however, said it was “out of place” for a probe agency to seek an explanation of department action or inaction, based on their findings on an ongoing criminal case that was before the court.