Manoj Verma appointed new Kolkata Police chief; who is he
The West Bengal government on Tuesday appointed senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Manoj Verma as the new Kolkata Police Commissioner. This decision was made in response to demands from protesting junior doctors for the removal of his predecessor, Vineet Goyal. The doctors had listed Goyal's removal as one of their five conditions to end their strike, which was triggered by the rape and murder of a fellow doctor at a state-run hospital last month.
Verma's previous roles and Goyal's new position
Verma, a 1998 batch IPS officer, previously served as the additional director general (ADG) for law and order in West Bengal. His experience includes working in Maoist-affected regions and serving as the commissioner of Barrackpore Police. Goyal has now been transferred to the role of ADG and Inspector General of Police (IGP), Special Task Force (STF), West Bengal.
Health officials replaced following doctor's meeting with CM
In addition to the police commissioner's replacement, two senior state health officials were also reassigned. This decision came after a crucial meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the protesting doctors on Monday night. Following their discussion, Dr. Swapan Soren was appointed as the new director of Health Services (DHS), replacing Dr. Debashis Halder. The incumbent Director of Medical Education (DME), Dr. Kaustav Nayak, was transferred and appointed the Director of Institute of Health and Family Welfare.
Banerjee addresses doctors' demands after meeting
"They asked to remove three health officers, I have removed two. We accepted 99% (of their) demands. Would request them to rejoin work," Banerjee announced She also noted that Goyal had expressed his willingness to resign amid the statewide stir and allegations against Kolkata Police. Goyal assumed responsibilities for the top cop position in December 2021. A 1994-batch IPS officer, he is an alumnus of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Kharagpur and IIT Kanpur.
