Kolkata man gets life for doctor’s murder

Kolkata man gets life for doctor’s murder
Kolkata man gets life for doctor’s murder

An Indian court awarded a life sentence to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty and 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 on August 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 by judge Anirban Das, who said circumstantial evidence had proved the charges against Roy.

Roy said he was innocent and that 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.

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The judge said that he had come to the conclusion that it was not a rarest-of-rare crime after considering all the evidence and the circumstances linked to it. He said Roy could go on appeal to a higher court.

The sentence was announced in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to witness proceedings. The speedy trial in the court was not 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.

The parents had earlier said that they were not satisfied with the probe and suspected more people were involved in the crime.

Protesting doctors had said that street protests would continue until justice was done.

India’s federal police cited 128 witnesses in its investigation, of whom 51 were examined during the fast-tracked trial that began in November.