Court sentenced Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment till death in the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the State-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital
Published Date – 20 January 2025, 03:15 PM
File photo: Sanjoy Roy
Kolkata: A Kolkata court sentenced Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment till death on Monday after he was convicted of rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the State-run RG What Medical College and Hospital.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban The in Sealdah had on Saturday held Roy guilty of the crime committed against the postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital on August 9 last year, which sparked off unprecedented and prolonged nationwide protests.
Judge The said the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category as justification for not giving death penalty to the convict.
The court also directed the state to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.
The sentence was passed after the judge heard the final statements of the convict and his counsels placed in self-defence as well as those of the victim’s family, and the CBI.
Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was held guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Earlier, Roy, who was convicted of the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the State-run R G What Medical College and Hospital, on Monday claimed in a court here that he was innocent and had been “wrongly held guilty.” Roy was on Saturday held guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and throttling her to death in August last year.
“I am being framed and have not committed any crime. I have not done anything, and still, I have been held guilty,” Roy told the court ahead of sentencing in the case. “I was beaten up in the prison and was forced to sign papers,” he added. “When the CBI took over the case, a medical test was done at a railway hospital here, but nothing was shown in it,” Roy further claimed in the court. When asked by the judge about the convict’s family, Roy stated that he has mother but no one came to see him after his arrest.
He mentioned that he used to stay in a police camp before his arrest in the case. “I have not committed the crime but have been pronounced guilty,” Roy reiterated.
The judge told Roy that the verdict would be based on the evidence presented and noted that he had already provided extensive statements during three hours of questioning by the lawyers in the trial. Roy was convicted by Judge Anirban The of the Additional District and Sessions Court, Sealdah under Sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Saturday.
During the proceedings, the CBI lawyer pleaded for the highest penalty for the convict, calling the crime “rarest of the rare”.
The CBI lawyer reiterated, “This is a case which comes under the rarest of rare category. The maximum punishment, which is the death penalty, should be awarded to Roy to maintain people’s faith in society.” The defence lawyer of Roy argued that the prosecution must provide evidence, which can prove that there is no possibility of reform of the convict.
The defence lawyer submitted, “We pray for any punishment other than the death penalty.” She argued that evidence should be brought forward proving that the convict is beyond reform.
Roy’s counsel also cited some judgements in which death sentences awarded by the trial court were commuted by higher courts.
The lawyer representing the parents of the deceased doctor prayed for the maximum punishment, arguing that Roy, being a civic volunteer, was entrusted with the security of the hospital, but had himself committed the heinous crime on the victim he was supposed to protect.
The hearing of the convict’s self-defence and other stakeholders concluded around 1 pm, and the Judge stated that the sentence would be pronounced at 2:45 pm.
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