Mamata Accedes To A Few Demands Of Protesting Doctors

The West Bengal government on Tuesday effected a reshuffle in the Health and Police departments as announced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after her meeting with the agitating junior doctors late yesterday night.

The Chief Minister had met the junior doctors on Monday evening to break the deadlock after multiple failed attempts, and as per their demand, announced the changes in the police ranks and the Health Department. Senior IPS officer Manoj Kumar Verma was made the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police, replacing Vineet Goyal, according to a notification issued by the Home Secretary this morning.

Since the discovery of the body of a 31-year-old junior doctor who was found raped and murdered on August 9, junior doctors across the State had blamed Vineet Goyal of leading efforts to destroy crucial evidence. The students have been on cease-work since August 10.
Goyal, a 1994 batch officer who was under fire over handling of the rape and murder of the doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was made the ADG and IGP of West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF).

The State Government also removed Kolkata Police’s DC (North) Abhishek Gupta who had been accused of offering hush money to the victim’s parents even as her body was lying in her house.

Abhishek Gupta was replaced by Dipak Sarkar from the Siliguri Police. Gupta was made Commanding Officer of Eastern Frontier Rifles 2nd Battalion. Police sources said that this was an insignificant posting that was like a “punishment posting”.

As decided in the meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence last night, the State Government also removed Director of Health Services (DHS) Debashis Halder and Director of Medical Education (DME) Kaustav Nayak. Both of them had signed the order for demolishing a room opposite the seminar room where the murdered doctor’s body was found, leading to allegations that both had tried to destroy evidence. One of the agitating junior doctors said had seen the Government Order and would announce the future course of their movement following a meeting among themselves.