Court rejects illness plea, sends Akhtar Ali to judicial custody in R.G. Kar probe

An important development has emerged in the R.G. Kar Hospital corruption case with former Deputy Superintendent (Non-Medical) Akhtar Ali being sent to judicial custody till February 17. Ali, who had earlier raised allegations of financial irregularities against former principal Sandip Ghosh, appeared before the special CBI court in Alipore on Tuesday and was remanded to custody.

The court proceedings followed a series of missed appearances by Ali despite a non-bailable arrest warrant being issued against him. He had cited illness and hospitalisation in Howrah as reasons for not surrendering earlier. The CBI, however, opposed his claims, arguing that he deliberately delayed the process and failed to cooperate with the investigation despite repeated summons.

During the hearing, the CBI sought judicial custody, stating that Ali himself was found to be involved in financial irregularities during the probe. The agency told the court that Ali had used illness as grounds to seek anticipatory bail, which was rejected earlier by the Calcutta High Court. The court noted the arguments and rejected Ali’s plea, ordering his judicial custody.

Ali’s surrender marks a significant turn in the case, as he was initially seen as a whistleblower who brought former principal Sandip Ghosh into the spotlight. The CBI has since named him in its chargesheet, maintaining that evidence collected during the investigation pointed to his role in the same corruption case he had helped expose.