Indian police volunteer gets life sentence for raping, murdering trainee doctor | India

An Indian police volunteer has been sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a young doctor at the hospital where she worked in Calcutta, a crime that sparked nationwide protests and strikes widespread in hospitals last year.

The court rejected requests for the death penalty, saying it was not a “rare” crime.

The woman’s body was found on August 9 in a classroom at the RG Kar State Medical College and Hospital. Other doctors remained off work for weeks to demand justice for her and better security in public hospitals.

Sanjay Roy, the police volunteer, was convicted on Saturday by Justice Anirban Das, who said circumstantial evidence proved the charges against him. Roy had claimed he was innocent and had been framed, and asked for mercy.

Federal police, who investigated the case, said the crime belonged to the category of “rarest cases” and therefore Roy deserved the death penalty.

“I don’t consider this to be the rarest of crimes,” Das said while sentencing Roy to life in prison on the rape and murder charges on Monday. “Life imprisonment, that is, imprisonment until death.”

The judge said he came to the conclusion that this was not a rare crime after considering all the evidence and circumstances related to it. He said Roy could appeal to a higher court.

The sentence was announced Monday in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to watch the proceedings. The expedited trial had not been open to the public.

The young doctor’s parents were among those in court Monday. Security has been reinforced with the deployment of dozens of police officers in the judicial complex.

The parents had earlier said they were unhappy with the investigation and suspected other people were involved in the crime. Their lawyer, Amartya Dey, told Reuters on Monday that they had sought the death penalty against Roy and also demanded that those involved in what they called the “larger conspiracy” be brought to justice.

Protesting doctors had said protests would continue until justice was served.

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

The police also accused the police officer who headed the local police station and the college principal at the time of destroying the crime scene and tampering with evidence.