Why Manoj Verma Was Picked as Kolkata's New Police Chief with Dept Facing Heat in RG Kar Hospital Case

Manoj Verma is the new police commissioner of Kolkata, replacing Vineet Goyal who has been transferred to the Special Task Force as additional director general (ADG). The change has come at a time when the Kolkata police department is perhaps facing its biggest crisis over the handling of the rape-murder case of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital.

Verma is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1998 batch who was the ADG and IGP (law & order) in his last assignment. He has been replaced by Jawed Shamim.

Many are asking why Verma was picked for the Kolkata police commissioner’s post in the thick of an imbroglio. That’s because, sources say, Manoj Verma has been a known troubleshooter in West Bengal police both under the Left and Trinamool Congress administrations.

In the Left era, when the Maoist challenge was at its peak, Verma as the superintendent of police in Paschim Medinipur handled it with great dexterity, sources say.

In 2011, when the TMC dethroned the Left in West Bengal, sources say Verma initially did not get a good posting, but later he once again became one of the key people to tackle the Maoist problem under Mamata Banerjee’s government as he was part of the counterinsurgency force.

Then he was moved to the Siliguri Commissionerate as the DIG. When there were tensions in Darjeeling, he handled the situation there as the IG of north Bengal.

In 2019, he became the commissioner in Barrackpore at a time when incidents of violence had become common with TMC strongman Arjun Singh switching to the BJP. Sources say that he handled his responsibilities well as ADG (law & order) as well.

According to officials, Verma’s career graph shows that he has handled tough situations and come out with flying colours. He performed well in Jangalmahal, Darjeeling, and Barrackpore, they say, and that right now Kolkata police need someone to fix their image.

Sources say there has also been some discontent in the police force since the arrest of station house officer (SHO) Abhijit Mondal by the Central Bureau of Investigation last week in connection with the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case. Several police officials have changed their social media display images to black. Some have also met Mondal’s family. In this situation, say sources, a leader is needed who will boost the morale of the force.

According to them, Verma has worked in Kolkata police as DC (traffic) and this experience will also help him.