Guwahati, July 22: Speculation over suspended Assam Police Blues coach P.X. Kanan being persuaded to reconsider his decision to quit ended today with the authorities replacing him with another former international, Jewel Bey.

Deputy inspector-general Umesh Kumar said Kanan has been relieved of his responsibilities on personal grounds. “As he has already made up his mind to leave we have accepted his papers. He had done a great job in building the team from scratch and guiding it to the super division stage. We are looking forward to the future under Jewel Bey,” he said.

Hailing from Karbi Anglong, the widely-travelled Bey played for India between 1989 and 1994 as a midfielder and was Kanan’s assistant from 2001. The police authorities’ praise should come as a big relief for Kanan, who was suspended for his unbecoming conduct by the Guwahati Sports Association (GSA) during the inter-office football meet.

Kanan will be going home to Calcutta and there is a strong possibility that he might take over as coach of the Monabari-based Williamson Magor Football Academy. The GSA, too, has lifted the ban on Kanan last night with a stern warning after the latter’s appeal to consider his case sympathetically.