Kolkata: A court in the city today (January 20) sentenced civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy, found guilty in the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, to life imprisonment.
The term comes as a surprise as speculation had been rife that Roy would be given the death penalty. The Mamata Banerjee government had even passed a new law seeking to impose capital punishment in all incidents of rape. The Central Bureau of Investigation, too, strongly pleaded for the death penalty.
On Saturday, January 18, the court of additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das had found Roy guilty on charges of rape (section 64) and murder – 103 (1) – under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
“I feel that it is not rarest of rare,” Judge Das said today, in response to the CBI’s argument that the case met this requirement.
The crime, in August last year, shook Bengal as millions protested for justice for the deceased woman. Junior doctors sat on multiple hunger strikes, culminating in meetings with the Banerjee government on steps to improve the state’s medical education system. Serious allegations of manipulation, coercion, financial irregularities and an all-pervading “threat culture” were brought against the Trinamool Congress administration – leading many to allege that there were multiple accused in this case.
The CBI, which took over the case from the Kolkata Police, brought charges against Roy. In his court appearances, Roy has alleged that he is being framed and that there are upper-level cops involved in the case.
The court also ordered him to pay Rs 50,000 as fine.
It directed the Bengal government to pay Rs 17 lakh as compensation to the deceased trainee doctor’s family. Her parents have refused the amount. “Please don’t think this amount is meant to compensate,” the judge said.
In multiple interviews, including to The Wire, her parents had noted that they suspect a systemic rot, and that Kolkata Police had offered them money to suppress the case. “It’s a brutal murder that occurred inside a closed room. We have no choice but to trust the CBI,” the father had told The Wire.
