India: Court finds man guilty in hospital rape, murder case
January 18, 2025
An Indian court on Saturday found a 33-year-old police volunteer guilty of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata last year.
"Your guilt is proved. You are being convicted," the judge said, after finding defendant Sanjoy Roy guilty of rape and murder. The sentence is due to be delivered on Monday.
Judge Anirban Das said circumstantial evidence proved the charges against Roy and that the sentence would range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
India's federal police, who investigated the case, called the crime "the rarest of the rare" during the trial and sought the death penalty for Roy.
Defendant claims to be innocent
The defendant said in November that he was "completely innocent" and had been framed. He reiterated that in court Saturday, saying, "I have not done this."
Roy's trial was fast-tracked through India's usually glacial legal system. Arguments in the case concluded just over a week ago.
The victim's parents expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation. They said the crime couldn't have been committed by just one person.
"Our daughter could not have met such a horrific end by a single man," her father said. "We will remain in pain and agony until all the culprits are punished."
Notorious case sparked protests
Outside the court, several doctors chanted slogans in solidarity with the victim. Dr Aniket Mahato, a spokesperson for the junior doctors, said street protests would continue "until justice is done."
The woman's body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital last August.
The incident once again highlighted the chronic problem of violence against women in India.
It led to demands by doctors at government hospitals for additional security. Thousands of citizens in Kolkata and elsewhere in India joined the doctors' protests in solidarity.
dh/rmt (AFP, Reuters)