A local court in Kolkata on Monday handed Sanjay Roy a life sentence without parole after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting and murdering a junior doctor while she was on duty at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy, employed as a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police at the hospital, was convicted of the rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor by the Additional District and Sessions Court in Sealdah on Saturday. The verdict came more than five months after his arrest on August 10, 2024.
While announcing the sentence for Roy, Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das in Sealdah explained that the crime did not meet the criteria for being classified as “rarest of the rare,” which led to the decision not to impose the death penalty.
Roy was convicted under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing injury resulting in the death of the rape victim), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was investigating the rape-murder case, had called for the death penalty for Roy, while his defense lawyer requested a jail sentence instead of capital punishment.
While delivering the verdict, Judge Anirban Das stated, “You will remain in prison for the rest of your life.”
Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on Roy and instructed the West Bengal government to provide ₹17 lakh in compensation to the family of the deceased doctor.
Judge Das remarked, “As the victim died while on duty at the hospital, it is the State’s responsibility to compensate her family—₹10 lakh for her death and ₹7 lakh for the rape.”
However, the victim’s father declined to accept the compensation. The judge added, “I don’t believe money can ever compensate for a life lost. It was the State’s duty to protect your daughter while she was on duty when she was raped and murdered. This is a legal obligation.” Earlier, Roy had maintained his innocence, claiming he was not involved in the crime. “I am being falsely accused. I have not committed any offense, yet I have been found guilty,” he told the court before the sentencing.
Sanjay Roy was apprehended by the Kolkata Police a day after the doctor’s body was discovered on August 9, 2024, inside the seminar room of the hospital’s emergency building in the city. In October of the previous year, the CBI submitted a chargesheet to the Sealdah court, identifying Sanjay Roy as the sole accused in the case. Despite speculation regarding the possible involvement of other individuals, the CBI’s chargesheet named only Roy and dismissed the notion of multiple perpetrators.
The parents of the deceased doctor expressed their dissatisfaction with the court’s verdict, alleging that the investigation was conducted in a “half-hearted” manner and that other perpetrators involved in the crime were protected.
“We are in shock. How can this not be considered a rarest of rare case? A doctor on duty was raped and murdered. We are deeply disappointed. There was a larger conspiracy behind this crime,” said the victim’s mother on Monday. The father added that the family would persist in their fight until all those responsible for the crime are identified and held accountable.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her dissatisfaction with the verdict, stating that she was unhappy with the life imprisonment sentence handed down to the convict in the rape and murder case.
“We have been calling for the death penalty from the very beginning. The case was transferred from the Kolkata Police to the CBI for investigation. A crime of such severity deserved the harshest punishment. Had it remained under our jurisdiction, we would have ensured that the convict received the death sentence,” said Banerjee, who is also the leader of the Trinamool Congress.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the horrific rape and murder case at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in August of the previous year, following widespread protests across the nation in response to the brutal crime.
The Supreme Court raised several concerns with the West Bengal police regarding the incident. These included delays in registering the First Information Report (FIR), the mishandling of the deceased doctor’s body, and the failure of the police to ensure the safety of medical staff during a mob attack at the hospital.
Source: The Hindu
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