Hours after Monday’s ‘fruitful’ dialogue between Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the agitating junior doctors, the State Government on Tuesday removed two senior IPS officers including Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Vivek Gupta for their alleged inept handling of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder case.

While Goyal was reversed to his previous position as the ADG, Special Task Force engaged in anti-insurgency operations, Gupta — accused of offering cash to the victim’s parents — was shunted out as the Commanding Officer of Eastern Frontier Rifles.

Goyal was replaced by 1998 batch IPS officer Manoj Verma known for his “excellent” track record in anti-Maoist operations in Jangal Mahal area. He was the chief of the task force that had gunned down senior Maoist leader Kishenji in 2011. Before assuming the charge of CP, Kolkata Verma had been working as the ADG Law and Order. Dipak Sarkar a former Deputy Commissioner of Police in Siliguri will replace DCP (North) Abhishek Gupta, the Government circular said.

The removal of police officers could pour some water on the burning embers of protest in Kolkata and the regions, experts said.

Apart from the top officials who earned the wrath of the junior doctors for their inept handling of the rape and murder case, two senior Health Department officials were also transferred out of the their respective positions.

These officials are: Director, Medical Education, Debashis Haldar and Director, Health Services. Kaustav Nayak. They were replaced by Suparna Dutta and Swapan Soren.

The Government action received mixed response with a top member of the Bengal civil society saying, “this is not the end, but the beginning of the movement that will end with the change.”

TMC Rajya Sabha Member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy who had earlier raised his voice against the “dastardly act and its aftermath” wrote on X, “My 2 fold demands were for custodial interrogation of 2 heads of RG Kar Hospital and Kolkata Police have now been accepted under pressures from popular movement unleashed by Jr. Doctors and millions of people. Satyameva Jayate. I’m happy like everybody.”

The agitating doctors had alleged that the two directors as also State health secretary had unlawfully allowed arrested former RGKMCH Principal Sandip Ghosh to demolish portions of the walls of the seminar hall of the hospital where the felony had allegedly taken place, thereby helping in destruction of evidence.

The massive reshuffle in police and health administration takes place after a prolonged meeting between the junior doctors and the Chief Minister at her Kalighat residence following which she said that she had “fulfilled the 99 per cent of the doctors’ demands” hoping they would “now resume their work.”

The doctors gave a mixed reaction to the Tuesday’s development. Dr Debashis, one of their leaders said that the Government decision was a fallout of their prolonged agitation adding they would wait closely watch how the security system in and around the Government hospitals were revamped. Another doctor however called the reshuffle a “reward posting” for Goyal.

“He has been shifted as the ADG, STF, that too on his own wish which is a reward posting … he should have been sent on ‘compulsory waiting’ because he had influenced the initial phases of investigation apparently in order to shield some people.”

Meanwhile, on whether the doctors would resume work, they said that things would be clear after general body meeting. “We have just been out of the individual meetings of the respective medical colleges … now we are going into the ‘pan GB meeting’ only after which we will be able to tell you whether, when and how the doctors will resume their work,” another leader of the junior doctors’ association said.