KOLKATA: An Indian court handed down a life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a rare crime.
The woman’s body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, where she worked, on Aug. 9. Other doctors stayed off work for weeks to demand justice for her and better security at public hospitals, as the crime sparked national outrage over a lack of safety for women.
Sanjay Roy, the police volunteer, was convicted on Saturday by judge Anirban Das, who said circumstantial evidence had proved the charges against Roy. On Monday, Roy, who denied the charges, said he had been framed and sought clemency.
The federal police, who investigated the case, said the crime belonged to the “rarest-of-rare” category and Roy, therefore, deserved the death penalty.
But the judge disagreed, saying that he had come to the conclusion after considering all the evidence and the circumstances linked to it.
“I do not consider it as a ‘rarest-of-rare’ crime,” Judge Das said as he sentenced Roy to life in jail on both the counts of rape and murder. “Life imprisonment, meaning imprisonment until death.”
Senjuti Chakrabarty, a lawyer for Roy, said the defense would appeal to a higher court and seek Roy’s acquittal.
The sentence was announced in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to witness proceedings. The speedy trial in the court had not been open to the public.
The parents of the junior doctor were among those in court. Security was stepped up with dozens of police personnel deployed at the court complex.
JUNIOR DOCTORS PROTEST
The parents had earlier said that they were not satisfied with the probe and suspected more people were involved in the crime.
Their lawyer, Amartya Dey, told Reuters that they had sought the death penalty for Roy and also demanded that those involved in what they called the “larger conspiracy” be brought to book.
“The appeal court is open for us ... let us get a copy of the judgment, we can then discuss it further,” Rajdeep Haldar, another lawyer for the parents, said.
A group of junior doctors and others demonstrated outside the court, demanding a harsher sentence for Roy. “We want justice. We want to know the other conspirators,” they said.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal of which Kolkata is the capital, said the state government run by the regional Trinamool Congress party was “not happy” with the sentence as it had demanded the death penalty.
“Life imprisonment ... is a travesty of justice,” said Amit Malviya, a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party that rules at the federal level.
“The verdict must be appealed. Justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done,” he posted on X. India’s federal police cited 128 witnesses in its investigation, of whom 51 were examined during the fast-tracked trial that began in November.
Police had also charged the officer heading the local police station and the head of the college at the time of the crime with destruction of the crime scene and tampering with evidence.
The police officer is out on bail while the former head of the hospital remains in detention in connection with separate allegations of financial irregularities at the hospital.