Mamata Banerjee admits postponing Kolkata police chief Vineet Goyal’s resignation: ‘How can I accept that before…’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced criticism over the delay in dismissing the Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal . On Monday, the TMC supremo said that despite Goyal tendering his resignation, she denied it, citing the need to maintain law and order during the festive season.

Multiple demands cited by the Kolkata doctor rape case protestors also include the resignation of the city police chief. However, Banerjee's latest statement about Goyal's resignation has attracted widespread criticism from the opposition party leaders and the protesting doctors.

“The Police Commissioner came to me to tender his resignation… How can I accept that before Durga Puja? He knows all the roads of Kolkata and how to control the situation. After the festive season, we can think about this,” Indian Express quoted Mamata Banerjee as saying at a meeting on Monday.

Protest against Kolkata police in RG Kar doctor rape, murder case

After the arrest of former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, protesting doctors were demanding the resignation of the police chief citing discrepancies during the initial investigation of the crime. The demand grew stronger after opposition leaders raised similar concerns.

The police actions during the initial investigation, like delay in filing FIR, alleged pressure on family for cremation, postmortem at RG Kar Hospital creating a conflict of interest, etc, have impugned questions on its improper response to the crime.

Another development that could raise more voices questioning the city police's lackadaisical approach in the RG Kar doctor rape case investigation is a missing postmortem document.

Missing postmortem document in RG Kar doctor rape, murder case

The Supreme Court, on Monday, said that a critical document related to the postmortem of the victim's dead body appeared to be missing. During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud questioned why a certain challan was not presented by the police in front of the court. The challan document showed what articles of clothing and a personal use was submitted for forensic examination. He also mentioned that it is not possible to carry out postmortem without a challan.