The West Bengal government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police. He replaces Vineet Kumar Goyal, who has been reassigned as the Additional Director General (ADG) of the Special Task Force.
This decision follows a meeting between Chief Minister Banerjee and protesting junior doctors. During the meeting, the Chief Minister agreed to several demands made by the doctors, including the removal of Vineet Kumar Goyal from his position as the Kolkata Police Commissioner and the removal of certain health department officials.
Addressing the protesting doctors, Banerjee stated, “Given the demand of junior doctors, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal has said in the meeting that he is ready to resign.” She added that Goyal would hand over his responsibilities to the new commissioner at 4 pm on Tuesday. The government has decided to comply with the demands set forth by the junior doctors.
In addition to this change, Banerjee announced that the Deputy Commissioner North, Abhishek Gupta, would also be removed. She explained, “We have decided to change the DC (Kolkata Police Commissioner)…he agreed to resign himself…in the health department, they demanded the removal of three persons, and we agreed to two. We have agreed to 99% of their demands. We have requested the junior doctors to return to work so that common citizens won’t suffer.”
Banerjee further clarified, “We have accepted three of their four demands…DC North (Abhishek Gupta) will also be removed, and a decision regarding the new DC will be taken tomorrow. Full attention will also be paid to the security of the doctors.”
This development comes amid ongoing protests by the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front and the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA). They have demanded the removal of the Kolkata Commissioner of Police and the replacement of senior officials in the Health and Family Welfare Department of the West Bengal Government.
The protests were sparked by the rape and murder of a second-year postgraduate trainee doctor inside a seminar room at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College on August 9. In a press conference held in the national capital, the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front and RDA outlined their five-point demands, which include justice for the victim, referred to as “Abhaya,” and an expedited investigation into the case.
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Additionally, the junior doctors called for the removal of the Director of Medical Education (DME), the Director of Health Services (DHS), and the Health Secretary from the Department of Health and Family Welfare. They also demanded action against “incompetent and complacent police authorities,” calling for the removal of Vineet Goyal and the Deputy Commissioner of Police of North and Central for administrative failure and alleged evidence tampering.