RG Kar Rape-Murder Case: The Sacking of Kolkata CP Vineet Goyal and Why Doctors Demanded His Exit
The tragic rape and murder of a junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, has outraged West Bengal, with medical professionals rallying for state-wide protests. At the center of the entire controversy lies the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal who has since been relieved of his duties following the protests by the doctors which placed their demands before the authorities and the latter. This incident left several questions about the system of law enforcement and their manner of handling both the case and subsequent protests that had consequently put the state government at a standoff with the medical fraternity for over a month.
A robust response from Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
A month of violence finally saw West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sitting across the protesting doctors on Monday night. As a desperate attempt to put an end to the logjam, Banerjee announced the removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal from his post. Along with Goyal, he relieved the director of health services and the director of medical education of their duties.
This came nearly after a month of protesting junior doctors demanding justice for their colleague who was brutally raped and murdered. The stalemate had severely affected the working of state-run hospitals. Goyal himself admitted to this, citing the mounting pressure and accusations regarding the case, said Banerjee.
Who Is Vineet Goyal? A Glimpse of His Career
Then IPS officer Vineet Goyal, belonging to the 1994 batch, succeeded Soumen Mitra to take charge as the Kolkata Police Commissioner in December 2021. Goyal was an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIT Kanpur and had served in various senior designations in the course of his service in Kolkata Police as deputy commissioner of police, special branch, and headquarters.
Goyal holds the rank of joint commissioner of police with Special Task Force and Traffic, besides being additional commissioner of police. Dotted throughout his career are decorations and honours, including two police medals for gallantry, a police medal for meritorious service, and the Chief Minister’s medal for outstanding service.
Even as he had long gone about with an image of being an effective administrator, the mishandling of protests at RG Kar Hospital and the criticism coming in from the medical fraternity made for near-unanimous calls for his removal.
The Allegations Against Vineet Goyal
Indeed, mismanagement of the protests which erupted in the wake of the brutal rape and murder of the young doctor was the core issue that cast a questionable shade on Vineet Goyal’s tenure as Kolkata CP. The unrest began after the junior doctor’s body was found at RG Kar Medical College, with immense outrage leading to immediate shock among professionals in the medical field and the general public at large.
On August 14, a mob allegedly torched and vandalized the premises of RG Kar Hospital in the course of a protest march led by junior doctors. Goyal came under severe flak for the failure of Kolkata Police to regulate the situation. The medical fraternity alleged that the police had failed to ensure security and even tampered with evidence in the case. It was alleged that Goyal’s leadership let the situation spin out of control, further vitiated the trust between the authorities and the medics.
In his justification, Vineet Goyal pleaded that the police did their job to their best. He accepted that though there was a sufficient security presence, the police did not expect the protest to get violent and an officer of deputy commissioner rank got injured. Goyal also touched on the dissemination of wrong information from social media, which he claimed progressively dented public trust in the police.
All these clarifications notwithstanding, the junior doctors became adamant on their demand for him to be removed from the position citing that they had lost all faith in his leadership capabilities.
Public Outrage and Protests by the Medics
The medical fraternity, led by junior doctors from government hospitals, joined hands in their quest for justice following the dastardly incident. Protest across West Bengal swelled and surged in number and intensity as the days went by without appropriate action from the authorities. Doctors across Kolkata city were placed on total duties, leaving patients in government hospitals in a precarious state of affairs.
The demands of justice over the dead doctor became interlinked with safety demands for doctors in general, who felt threatened and unprotected by the police. This protest at RG Kar Hospital turned ugly on August 14, as there were allegations of police excesses and failure to safeguard the hospital campus from destruction.
On the contrary, a call for Vineet Goyal’s resignation became symbolic of the larger issue of the unaccountability of the police and the role of the state government in redressing public and medical community grievances.
The Role of the CBI in the Investigation
Amid the din, the Calcutta High Court intervened however ordered the CBI to take over the case. Involvement of CBI was considered as a step in bringing assurance that the investigation would not be biased. While defending his move, Vineet Goyal said the Kolkata Police has already handed over to the CBI all the evidence relating to the case, including video recordings of the post-mortem examination.
“We are not hiding anybody,” Goyal claimed, appealing to the public to trust the inquiry headed by the CBI. But as far as public perception was concerned, the damage had already been inflicted, and the doctors did not rest content until he was removed.
Conclusion: Scandalous Exit for Vineet Goyal
The ouster of Vineet Goyal as the Kolkata Police Commissioner brings a close to a disturbing month for the city police and the West Bengal government. The medical fraternity is happy about the removal, and now it is up to the CBI probe. Doctors returning to work pose a more important question of how law and order and the government will take care of future feelings of danger and vulnerability among medical professionals.
The appointment of a new Kolkata Police Commissioner, to be announced after 4 PM on Tuesday, will set the tone for the next phase in handling this sensitive case. For now, Vineet Goyal’s resignation is the significant watershed between the pursuit of justice for the victim and the larger issue of restoring public trust in the system.
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