Kolkata, India
Reuters
—
An Indian court on Monday sentenced a police volunteer convicted of raping and murdering a young doctor at the hospital where she worked in Calcutta, in the east of the country, to life in prison, rejecting calls for a sentence of death and affirming that it was not a rare crime. .
The woman’s body was found on August 9 in a classroom at the RG Kar Government Medical College and Hospital. 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 Justice Anirban Das, who said circumstantial evidence proved the charges against Roy.
Roy said 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 do not consider this to be the rarest of crimes,” said Justice Das, who sentenced Roy to life in prison for rape and murder. “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 in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to watch proceedings Monday. The speedy trial was not 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 more 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 “wider conspiracy” be brought to justice.
Protesting doctors had said street demonstrations 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.