Ex-RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh's medical registration cancelled
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Thursday cancelled the registration of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh, an official said.
Ghosh, who is in CBI custody, has been removed from the list of registered medical practitioners maintained by the WBMC, he said.
His licence was cancelled under various provisions of the Bengal Medical Act of 1914, the official said.
He is an orthopaedic surgeon and without the licence, he cannot practice.
Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 for his alleged involvement in the financial irregularities at the hospital amid the protests over the rape and murder of the on-duty trainee doctor. He was later accused of evidence tampering in the rape-murder case.
Aniket Mahato, one of the leading faces of the junior doctors who have been agitating over the death of their colleague, described it as a "victory".
"This is a victory for our deceased sister. The cancellation of Ghosh's medical registration should have been done the very next day of his arrest. We are happy that the West Bengal Medical Council has finally taken this step," he said.
The West Bengal Doctors' Forum (WBDF), however, described the decision to cancel Ghosh's medical licence as an "eyewash" and an "attempt to save him".
"Registration of Sandip Ghosh has been cancelled as per rules 25 a (2) of the Bengal Medical Act 1914. As per these rules, two-thirds of the council members must vote in favour of the decision to cancel the registration of any medical practitioner. In the case of Ghosh, no such meeting was conducted. Also, at present, a quorum is not possible due to the resignation of a few members and the death of one member. So this order is legally not tenable and just an eye wash," Dr Rajiv Pandey of the WBDF told PTI.
Claiming that the registrar of the council cancelled the licence on verbal communication of WBMC president Sudipta Roy, Pandey said it "was not acceptable".
Ghosh was appointed the principal of the RG Kar Medical College in February 2021. Amid the protests, he resigned from the post.
The notice regarding the cancellation of Ghosh's registration was sent to his Beliaghata and New Town residences.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
