Over a year before RG Kar case, former principal was under scanner over ‘illegal’ movement of bodies from mortuary

The incident in question happened in January 2023, during a workshop on endoscopic sinus surgery that was held at RG Kar Hospital as part of its Golden Jubilee state conference, sources said. The three-member Commission (WBHRC) later took suo motu cognizance on January 10 and sought a detailed report from the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department by January 31, 2023.

An initial inquiry into the matter was conducted by a committee of doctors from RG Kar and a report was forwarded to the WBHRC by the deputy secretary, health and family welfare department. The WBHRC received the same enquiry report in March 2023.

According to the report, the dead bodies were sent to the ENT workshop after obtaining verbal consent from the jurisdictional police and the families of the deceased. Written permission from the police was obtained later. The report claimed that the workshop only demonstrated external anatomy and did not use any techniques that would interfere with post-mortem examinations.

The WBHRC did not accept the enquiry committee’s report and sought a clarification on why prior written permission from the relatives of the deceased and police authorities was not obtained. It also claimed that post-facto written permission of police had been taken, but the date and authorities involved were not specified.

The WBHRC was not satisfied with a second report that was submitted and decided to summon doctors and the heads of the departments concerned. During the recording of statements, the Commission received a complaint in September 2023 from a former head of the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (FMT) at RG Kar. On the basis of this complaint, the Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) of the investigation wing of the WBHRC was asked to submit a detailed report.

As per the commission report, the former head of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at RG Kar filed a complaint alleging, “The entire event was an issue of a bigger conspiracy done by principal, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh and the Demonstrator, Deptt. of Forensic Medicine, RG Kar.”

According to the complaint, the ENT department requested the forensic medicine department for dead bodies for the purpose of a workshop and the complainant agreed to provide unclaimed (post-mortem done and ready to be disposed of) or bodies donated for academic purposes through the anatomy department.

However, the then principal (Sandip Ghosh) allegedly tried to fudge post-mortem reports and put pressure on the morgue attendant to make certain register entries on January 11, 2023. The attendant refused, saying that the post-mortem reports had already been uploaded online – on the web portal.

The complainant also alleged that the former principal threatened the morgue attendant.

According to the complainant’s statement to the Commission, the “former principal of RG Kar Medical was responsible for everything.”
Initially, in September 2023, Sandip Ghosh allegedly did not appear before the Commission to record his statement, citing “urgent domestic work”.

However, in January 2024, he recorded his statement with the WBHRC’s investigation wing and denied all allegations.

“While giving his statement before the Commission, Dr. Sandip Ghosh claimed that he had no knowledge of the rejection of request letter by the HOD, FMT department, R G Kar Medical College & Hospital for supplying of corpses for workshop…. while making his statement before the Investigation Wing, Dr. Sandip Ghosh admitted that dissection of dead bodies, prior to post mortem examination, without any order or without observing any formalities, is a gross negligence,” the WBHRC said in its
report.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the Commission did not accept Ghosh’s statement.

“Dr Sandip Ghosh was the Principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital…while making his statement before the Commission, he tried to evade his responsibility by saying that he was not directly or indirectly involved in the incident and he had just forwarded the letter to the HOD, FMT.  Dr Ghosh tried to clarify by stating that he had no knowledge about the rejection of the prayer for supplying dead bodies to the workshop earlier by the complainant. This clarification or explanation is not tenable at all. More so, he himself had admitted that dissection of dead bodies’ prior to post-mortem examination, without any order or without observing any formalities, is gross negligence. That means he not only allowed the dead bodies to be placed before the workshop but also allowed those dead bodies to be dissected before post-mortem with the knowledge of the consequences of such dissection prior to post-mortem examination. The then principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was also responsible for the incident.”

In January this year, the WBHRC recommended disciplinary action against Ghosh and others for providing false and misleading evidence, intentionally trying to mislead the Commission and hinder its investigation into the wrongful use of cadavers of five deceased persons sent from the hospital morgue.

The Commission has asked the “Chief Secretary of West Bengal to inform us about the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations within three months.”

WBHRC member Basudeb Banerjee declined to comment on the matter, saying that the Commission’s decision is in the public domain.
Ghosh’s counsel Zohab Rahuf told The Indian Express, “The order of the WBHRC has been passed in ignorance of facts and without hearing my client in contravention of the principles of natural justice. It is in the teeth of the Calcutta High Court’s Order in WPA(P) 614 of 2023, which completely exonerated my client from such baseless allegations. Unfortunately, such an order was not even brought to the Commission’s notice.”