A police volunteer in Kolkata, India, has been sentenced to life in prison for the heinous crimes of rape and murder of a junior doctor. The victim worked at the same hospital where the police volunteer was stationed.
An Indian court, on Monday, January 20, 2025, awarded the life sentence, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a rare crime.
According to sources, the woman’s body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9.
Other doctors stayed off work for weeks to demand justice for her and better security at public hospitals, as the crime drew national outrage over a lack of safety for women.
Sanjay Roy, the police volunteer, was convicted on Saturday 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 that Roy, therefore, deserved the death penalty.
“I do not consider it as a rarest-of-rare crime,” said Judge Das, who sentenced Roy to life in jail on both the counts of rape and murder. “Life imprisonment, meaning imprisonment until death.”
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The judge said 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 appeal to a higher court.
