On Wednesday, the West Bengal government made a big change in the hospital’s administration by appointing Manash Kumar Banerjee as the new principal, removing Suhrita Paul from her role. This comes after the August 9 discovery of the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor who was allegedly slain after being raped inside the seminar hall of the government-run RG Kar hospital.
Who Is Manash Kumar Banerjee?
Banerjee served as the hospital’s principal at Barasat Medical College. Before this, on September 11, 2023, Dr. Manas Kumar Banerjee was appointed instead of Sandeep Ghosh, who was sent to Murshidabad Medical College due to allegations of corruption at RG Kar Medical College. However, it is believed that Sandeep Ghosh closed the principal’s room, preventing Manas Kumar Banerjee from taking over. For unclear circumstances, he was moved from Murshidabad Medical College to RG Kar Hospital once more in two days.
At the RG Kar Medical College Hospital, Saptarshi Chatterjee has been named the next Medical Superintendent and Vice Principal (MSVP). Chatterjee was the MSVP of Bankura Sammilani Medical College before. Suharita Paul was fired from her position in response to demands made by college students who staged protests. Bengal’s Health Secretary, Narayan Swaroop Nigam, took this move. Arunabh Dutta Chowdhury, the head of the department of chest medicine, and Bulbul Mukhopadhyay, the MSVP, and the vice principal of the medical college, were also relieved of their positions.
Protests against the former principal of RG Kar Hospital, Sandeep Ghosh, had become more intense after the indignation over the brutal occurrence in Kolkata. Suhrita Paul was selected as the new Principal after Sandeep Ghosh quit due to mounting dissatisfaction. However, in response to more student protests, Paul was fired from her job a few days later.
On August 9, a postgraduate trainee physician was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed while working at the hospital. Subsequently, the 31-year-old woman’s partially nude corpse was discovered in the lecture hall of the government-run hospital in Kolkata. The following day, a community volunteer was taken into custody concerning the offence. After that, the Central Bureau of Investigation was directed by the Calcutta High Court to take over the investigation of the case from the Kolkata Police.