Police Volunteer Convicted in Rape and Murder of Indian Trainee Doctor

A police volunteer has been found guilty of raping and murdering a trainee doctor at a hospital in India, a case that ignited widespread protests across the country last year.
The Civil and Criminal Court in Sealdah convicted 33-year-old Sanjay Roy for the crime against the female trainee, whose body was discovered in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last August. This incident highlighted the alarming issue of sexual violence against women in India.
Judge Anirban Das, who oversaw the expedited trial, indicated that Roy, who claimed his innocence and alleged he was framed, could face either life imprisonment or the death penalty when he is sentenced on Monday.
“Your guilt is established. You are being convicted,” the judge declared, noting that circumstantial evidence supported the charges against him.
Roy’s defense team, which has not yet commented on the verdict, contends that there were significant inconsistencies in the investigation and forensic evidence presented during the trial, which began on November 11 and included testimonies from 51 witnesses.
Read Also: US Sanctions Sudan’s Army Chief Citing War Crimes
Call For Justice

In anticipation of the verdict, more than 200 armed police personnel were deployed. As Roy was brought to court in a police car, protesters chanted: “Hang him, hang him.” Several doctors also chanted slogans in solidarity with the victim. Dr. Aniket Mahato, a spokesperson for the junior doctors, stated that street protests would continue “until justice is done.”
The gruesome nature of the attack prompted weeks of nationwide protests, drawing parallels to the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi. The incident led to calls from doctors at government hospitals for increased security measures.
Following the protests, India’s Supreme Court established a national task force that proposed measures to enhance safety in government hospitals.
India’s federal police, who investigated the case, also charged the officer in charge of the local police station at the time of the crime and the then-head of the hospital with destruction of the crime scene and tampering with evidence. The police officer is currently out on bail, while the former head of the hospital remains in detention in connection with a separate case of financial irregularities at the hospital.
However, according to sources from the court, the Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court in the city will decide the quantum of punishment to the woman doctor’s rape and murder convict and civic volunteer Sanjay Roy on Monday (today).
Source: Al Jazeera