Court convicts Sanjay Roy accused of brutal rape-murder of Kolkata's RG Kar's trainee doctor, to be sentenced on Jan 20

A local court in Kolkata on Jan 18 found Sanjay Roy, a former civic police volunteer, guilty in the gruesome rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar hospital.

The 33-year-old Roy will be sentenced on Jan 20, bringing closure to the brutal incident that triggered nationwide agitation last year.

In a 160-page judgment, the Additional District and Sessions Court in Sealdah convicted Roy under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that deal with rape, murder, and causing death.

At the hearing, accused Roy claimed his innocence and said that he was not involved in the incident.

Court held Roy guilty of the rape and murder of the trainee doctor.

"The accused will be heard on Monday. Now he is being sent to judicial custody. His punishment will be announced on Jan 20. I have fixed the time at 12:30 to hear the case," said judge Anirban Das while pronouncing the order.

"I have criticized some activities of the police and hospital authorities which came out in the evidence. Activities of the HoD, MSVP and Principal created some confusion and that has been criticized," Das added.

After the judgment, the victim's father broke down in the court and told the judge, "You have honored the faith that I reposed in you."

Brought to the crowded courtroom on Jan 19 afternoon amid tight security, Roy repeated his claim that he was being framed as his lawyers tried to calm him down. When he was being taken out, he claimed a certain "IPS" knew everything.

The 31-year-old doctor, who was on duty on August 8 night last year, was found dead the next morning, sparking massive nationwide protests that brought Bengal to a standstill.

At the hearing, accused Roy claimed his innocence and said that he was not involved in the incident. Court held Roy guilty of rape and murder of the trainee doctor.

The judgment was delivered by the court, 57 days after the in-camera trial commenced on November 12 last year.

Roy was charged with committing the crime on the postgraduate trainee at the state-run hospital in the northern part of the city.

The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the case initially arrested Roy on August 10, a day after the medic's body was recovered from the seminar room of the hospital. The Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The hearing in Roy's trial was concluded on Jan 9, during which 50 witnesses were examined. The parents of the deceased doctor have claimed that other persons were involved in the crime and expected that they would also be arrested and tried before the court.

Besides Roy, the medical college's principal Sandip Ghosh and the former officer of the local police station, Abhijit Mondal, were arrested on charges of evidence tampering last year. Both later secured a "default bail" since CBI did not pursue the charges within the next 90 days.

The conviction also raises hope for thousands of doctors who had gone on strike demanding a safer work environment and better infrastructure that would make them feel secure.