A local court in Kolkata on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death after he was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering an on-duty junior doctor at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy, who was working as a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police at the hospital, was convicted of rape and murder of the 31-year-old woman doctor by the Additional District and Sessions Court, Sealdah on Saturday, after more than five months after his arrest on August 10, 2024.
Life Sentence
Declaring the quantum of punishment for Roy, Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das said that the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category, which justified the decision to not impose the death penalty on the convict.
Roy was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing injury resulting in the death of rape victim), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the rape-murder case, prayed for the death penalty for Roy, while the lawyer representing him prayed for a jail term instead of the death penalty.
“You will be in prison till the last day of your life,” said judge Anirban Das while reading the order.
The court also ordered Roy to pay a fine of ₹50,000 and directed the West Bengal government to pay compensation of ₹17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
State responsibility
“Since the victim died while on duty in the hospital, her place of work, it is the responsibility of the State to pay compensation to the family of the doctor – ₹10 lakh for the death and ₹7 lakh for the rape,” Das said.
The victim’s father refused to accept any compensation. The judge said, “I don’t think money can compensate for any death. It was the liability of the State to protect your daughter as she was on duty (when she was raped and murdered). This is a statutory provision.”
Earlier, Roy claimed his innocence and stated that he was not involved in the incident. “I am being framed. I have not committed any crime, and still, I have been held guilty,” he told the court ahead of sentencing in the case.
He was arrested by the Kolkata Police a day after the body of the doctor was found on August 9, 2024, inside the seminar room of the emergency building of the hospital in the city.
The CBI filed a chargesheet before the Sealdah court in October last year, naming Sanjay Roy, the only accused arrested in connection with the crime. Although questions were raised about the involvement of multiple persons in the crime, the chargesheet filed by CBI named only one accused and ruled out the involvement of multiple persons.
‘Not satisfied’
The parents of the deceased medic said they were not satisfied with the verdict of the court. They claimed that the investigation was done “half-heartedly” and several other culprits involved in the crime were shielded.
“We are shocked. How is this not the rarest of rare cases? An on-duty doctor was raped and murdered. We are dismayed. There was a larger conspiracy behind this crime,” the victim’s mother said on Monday. The father said the family would continue their fight until all the other culprits are brought to the book and punished.
Commenting on the verdict, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was “not satisfied” as the convict in the rape and murder case was sentenced to life imprisonment.
“We have been demanding capital punishment from the first day. The case was taken away from us (Kolkata Police), and the CBI did the investigation. There should have been ultimate punishment for a person who committed such a crime. Had it been with the police, we would have ensured that he was served a death sentence,” said Banerjee, also Trinamool Congress supremo.
The BJP criticised the sentence of life imprisonment for the convict and termed it a “travesty of justice”. BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya called for appealing the judgement, demanding probe agencies to investigate the role of the then Kolkata Commissioner and Mamata Banerjee for allegedly destroying the evidence.
“West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must stop shielding the criminals. Agencies also need to investigate the role of the then Kolkata Commissioner and the Chief Minister in the destruction of evidence. Justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done,” Malviya said on ‘‘X’‘.
Notably, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the gruesome rape and murder case at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year, amid massive mass protests across the country over the heinous crime.
The apex court questioned the West Bengal police over several issues related to the incident at the hospital. The court raised concerns about delays in filing the First Information Report (FIR), handing over the body of the deceased doctor and failure of the police to protect medical staff at the hospital during a mob attack.