‘Important component in overall corruption’: How RG Kar whistleblower turned into an accused in CBI case

From being “grossly involved” in manipulating procurement procedures at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMGH) to receiving undue financial benefits worth lakhs of rupees from vendors, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused Akhtar Ali—the key whistleblower in the institution’s multi-crore financial irregularities case—of being an “important component in the overall corruption scenario”.

Earlier this month, the agency submitted a supplementary chargesheet in the case, naming Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the hospital, who was the first to level corruption charges against the institution’s then principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh.

According to the supplementary chargesheet, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, Ali was “grossly involved in illegal procurement process at RGKMGH” and was dealing with procurement even before Ghosh joined. “He was instrumental in changing the standard procedure for procurement at RGKMCH in connivance with Sandip Ghosh in order to favour other accused persons, namely Biplab Singha, Suman Hazra and Afsar Ali Khan,” the chargesheet states.

It adds that Ali, while he was posted and working as assistant superintendent (non-medical) and later deputy superintendent (non-medical) at RGKMCH, availed undue financial benefits “by way of securing air travel tickets for himself and for the members of his family to the tune of Rs 1.49 lakhs in separate instances through the private vendor, namely Dipankar Bar”.

“He also received Rs 50,000 in the bank account of his wife from another vendor, namely Subrata Basu. He further received pecuniary gain by way of transfer of funds to the tune of Rs 2.39 lakh in his wife’s bank account from another vendor, namely, Jitesh Jain,” the chargesheet adds.

It was Ali’s allegations against Ghosh that led the Calcutta High Court to order a CBI probe into the multi-crore irregularities at the institute. The probe ultimately led to the arrest of Ghosh and others, all of whom are currently in judicial custody.

The CBI’s supplementary chargesheet states that Ali’s name kept cropping up during the investigation, with “many facts” pointing towards his “being hand in glove with Sandip Ghosh”.

“Some vendors too alleged corruption charges against Akhtar Ali, which were neither enquired into by Sandip Ghosh, nor was any action taken by him. Due to this dubious role of Akhtar Ali, he was not cited as a witness in first chargesheet,” the CBI stated in the chargesheet.

According to the CBI, to ensure manipulation, Ghosh changed the prevalent procurement system at the hospital and instructed that proposals be routed through Ali, and not the store section.

“Investigation revealed that in order to favour particular vendors such as Biplab Singha and Suman Hazra the procurement process got centralised. In the supplementary chargesheet, the CBI stated, “Sandip Ghosh and Akhtar Ali, in connivance with each other, procured items in clandestine manner and Akhtar Ali was the first and important link in the larger conspiracy,” the chargesheet states.

“All procurements were routed directly through Akhtar Ali and processed under the orders and directions of Sandip Ghosh…A number of quotations favouring co-accused Biplab Singha and Suman Hazra were given by-numbers in the form of alphabets like B/C/D etc. by Akhtar Ali and the same was totally illegal as per existing practices. Many of such illegal memo numbers pertaining to quotations and work orders are not even reflected in the dispatch registers seized from RGKMC,” it adds.

The investigation has revealed that selective quotations and corresponding illegal work orders were allegedly drafted or initiated by Ali and signed by Ghosh. The chargesheet goes on to state that Ali allegedly received funds from other vendors in RGKMCH prior to Ghosh’s arrival in February 2021. “ln order to ward of any future detection, Akhtar Ali even used the account of his wife for accepting the bribe money,” it added.

“It is revealed that prior to the joining of Sandip Ghosh, Akhtar Ali was an important component in the overall corruption scenario. Even after the joining of Sandip Ghosh, Akhtar Ali was very close to him and dealt with both Biplab Singha and Suman Hazra on regular basis to sort out issues pertaining to their quotations in his office chamber at RGKMC in exchange of similar undue benefits as that of Sandip Ghosh. But soon after, he (Akhtar Ali) started having clashes with Sandip Ghosh, he changed his stance and started making complaints against Sandip Ghosh and others at various forums,” the chargesheet said.

In 2023, Ali, then deputy superintendent at RG Kar, had submitted a written complaint to the State Vigilance Commission alleging financial misconduct by Ghosh. Following his complaint, Ali was transferred to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, where he served briefly as deputy superintendent (non-medical).

In April this year, he was again transferred—this time to Kaliyaganj Hospital in Uttar Dinajpur as deputy superintendent. In November this year, Ali was suspended. In a notification explaining the suspension, the health department stated that, based on the Calcutta High Court’s orders, the CBI’s investigation into RG Kar’s financial irregularities had uncovered Ali’s involvement.

The department alleged that Ali demanded lakhs of rupees from a particular supplier in exchange for granting procurement favours. Between 2020 and 2022, ₹2.39 lakh was deposited in his bank account, while another ₹50,000 was credited to his wife’s account. Following these findings, the health department decided to suspend him until the investigation was completed.