Calcutta’s police commissioner, Manoj Kumar Verma, went to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Sunday afternoon and visited several departments before speaking to on-duty security personnel, including those from the Central Industrial Security Force and Kolkata Police.

Police sources said Verma went to the emergency ward of the hospital, where the 31-year-old junior doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9, for an assessment of the security coverage that was in place, and then visited the rooms that were vandalised on the night of August 14 when a mob barged into the healthcare facility.

“The police commissioner spoke to the security personnel deployed from the CISF and the Kolkata police. The commissioner possibly wanted to assess the arrangements before drawing up further plans for increasing the security cover,” said a senior police officer.

Verma had visited the medical college on September 19, within 48 hours of taking over as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police. Some officers accompanying the police chief said he spent more time on Sunday compared to the earlier visit at RG Kar.

Verma’s visit came a day after junior doctors across Bengal’s medical colleges and hospitals said they would return to complete cease-work from Monday evening, withdrawing even from the basic services they were providing. They wanted to see what the state would tell the Supreme Court about hospital security measures when the apex court hears the case on Monday.

Among senior officers present at the medical college and hospital during Verma’s visit was Malay Kumar Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Tala police station, posted three days back, on September 26.

Dutta replaced Abhijit Mondal, the officer-in-charge of the police station who was in charge when the rape and murder took place at the hospital. The CBI arrested him for his alleged involvement in the case as a part of a larger conspiracy.

“The commissioner’s visit was also aimed at building confidence among a section of the force who have been battling frustrations following Mondal’s arrest,” said a senior officer. “Sudden visits also help assess the state of preparedness of the force on duty and make a realistic assessment of the shortcomings. The police commissioner possibly wanted to do exactly that.”

The Telegraph reported on Sunday that the health department had completed tender formalities for constructing 71 more duty rooms at RG Kar. The principal has sought CBI’s approval to start the work.