An Indian court on Monday sentenced a police volunteer to life in prison after declare him guilty in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor last year, a crime that sparked nationwide protests over women’s lack of safety and led to a speedy trial in the country’s slow justice system.
Sanjay RoY, 33, who has always maintained his innocence, can appeal the judgment to a higher court.
The doctor’s family burst into tears, saying they were “shocked” by the sentence and hoping that his murderer would be hanged. But Judge Anirban Das said the case did not deserve the death penalty because it was not “the rarest of rare cases”, and ordered that Roy spend his life behind bars.
THE murder of 31-year-old doctor while on duty at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, highlighted the chronic problem of violence against women in the country. Police found the woman’s bloodied body in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.
Federal police, who investigated the case, said the crime deserved the death penalty. The victim’s parents had also sought the death penalty against Roy and said they suspected more people were involved in the crime.
Bikas Das /AP
The case was initially investigated by Calcutta Police, but the court later handed over the probe to federal investigators after state government officers were accused of improperly managed the investigation.
After the assault, doctors and medical students across India organized demonstrations and gatherings demanding better security. Thousands of women also demonstrated in the streets to demand that justice be provided quickly to the victim.
Indian doctors from government hospitals in several states also organized a strike to protest against rape and murder.
Roy was arrested a day after the crime and proceedings in the case began in November. The attack prompted India’s Supreme Court to create a national task force to suggest ways to improve security in public hospitals.
The victim’s mother and father, who sat near Roy in court Monday, said they wanted Roy executed.
“We are shocked by the verdict,” the victim’s father told AFP, tears streaming down his face.
“We will continue our fight and will not let the investigations stop… Whatever happens, we will fight for justice.”
The family members cannot be identified, in accordance with India’s sexual violence reporting law.
Before sentencing, Roy insisted again Monday that he was innocent and had been “framed.”
Roy’s lawyer, Kabita Sarkar, said he was “not mentally stable” and they would appeal.
Police blocked several processions from reaching the court, but thousands of people gathered nearby and many chanted: “Hang him, hang him.”
Many cases of crimes against women go unreported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence, as well as a lack of trust in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where the community sometimes shames victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social status.
The nationwide outrage and protests were similar to those seen after the Gang rape and murder in 2012 of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi. The brutal attack prompted India to enact tougher laws against sexual violence, but according to the latest available government data, in 2022 authorities were still recording around 90 rapes on average per day.
Samir Jana/Hindustan Times/Getty
The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders. Four men sentenced to death for the 2012 crime were hanged in 2020.
The rape law amended in 2013 also criminalized stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.
Campaigners say the new sentencing requirements have not deterred rape and the number of recorded rape cases has increased. In 2022, the police recorded 31,516 reports of rape, an increase of 20% compared to 2021, according to the National Criminal Records Bureau.
Just last week, police in southern India arrested 49 of 64 men accused of sexually abusing an 18-year-old girl over the past five years. The girl, who has not been identified, reportedly told investigators that she had been sexually assaulted and gang raped several times since she was 13 years old.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
