RG Kar Corruption Case: Whistleblower Akhtar Ali Sent to Judicial Custody Till February 17

On Tuesday, a special court under the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Alipore remanded Akhtar Ali, former Deputy Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and one of the main whistleblowers in the RG Kar corruption case, to judicial custody till February 17. After the issuance of an arrest warrant in the case of alleged misappropriation of funds at the state run medical institution, Ali handed himself over to the special CBI court. 

After he appeared, his lawyer submitted an application for bail that the CBI opposed strongly. Later, the court rejected the plea and ordered judicial custody. Akhtar Ali's arrest warrant was issued on Saturday. He came to the court less than 24 hours after the warrant was issued but did not surrender at that time. Ali subsequently mentioned that he would surrender on Monday but didn't show up, claiming illness. He eventually turned up before the court on Tuesday afternoon.

During the hearing, counsel for former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, advocate Sanjay Dasgupta, alleged that Akhtar Ali was deliberately delaying the legal process. “Despite the court’s direction, he did not appear and remained absconding. The roots of corruption are much deeper, and we have submitted documents supporting this claim,” Dasgupta told the court, while maintaining that his client had no role in the alleged scam.

The CBI questioned Ali’s claim of illness, pointing out that he was actively giving statements to the media during the same period. “You were fit enough to address the media but not to appear before the court,” the CBI’s counsel remarked.

His lawyer, who was defending Ali, argued that the first date of appearance was December 16 and after that, a petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court. He further said that Ali got sick at that time and couldn't go to the next hearings. The CBI countered the argument by saying that Ali had been regularly sent summons for questioning but had always been practically uncooperative.

Notably, Akhtar Ali was the complainant who first levelled allegations of financial corruption against former principal Sandip Ghosh, bringing the RG Kar Medical College scam into the public domain. However, following investigation, the CBI concluded that Ali himself was allegedly involved in financial irregularities and filed a chargesheet against him.

Earlier, the Calcutta High Court rejected Ali’s anticipatory bail plea, clearing the way for his arrest and subsequent judicial custody.