Kolkata, Sep 5 (IANS): The Health Department of West Bengal government on Thursday suspended two doctors known to be close confidants of controversial former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, who is presently in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in financial irregularities at the state-run hospital when he in charge of its affairs.

The two suspended doctors are Avik De, the resident medical officer (RMO) in the radiodiagnosis department of Burdwan Medical College, and Birupaksha Biswas, the senior resident doctor attached to the pathology department of the same hospital who was transferred on Wednesday.

The suspension order of Avik De states that a department inquiry has also been initiated against him. Copies of both the suspension orders are available with IANS.

On Wednesday, Biswas was transferred from Burdwan Medical College in East Burdwan district to the Kakdwip Sub-divisional Hospital in South 24 Parganas district.

Ever since the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital last month, several junior doctors have accused De and Biswas, both close to Ghosh, of introducing a “threat culture” where junior doctors and interns were threatened unless they acted as directed by the duo.

On Tuesday evening, the day after Ghosh was taken into custody by the CBI, the Health Department issued a notification suspending him from state medical services because of the ongoing probe against him.

On Wednesday, Ghosh moved the Supreme Court challenging the CBI probe into the alleged financial irregularities.

There had been several complaints of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar Medical College when Ghosh was at the helm of affairs as its principal.

The charges include tendering of different contracts to private and outsourced parties of his confidence without getting the necessary approval from the Health Department and the college council; getting infrastructure-related tasks of the hospital done by private outsourced entities or individuals, instead of following the standard practice of getting them done by the Public Works Department (PWD); and selling biomedical wastes of the hospital, including organs of the unidentified bodies coming to the mortuary for post-mortem purposes, outside.