A Kolkata court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death on Monday, January 20, after he was convicted of rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das in Sealdah had on Saturday, January 18, 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.
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.”
Judge Das 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 INR 17 lakh (approx. USD 19,640) 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).
#WATCH | Delhi: On convict Sanjay Roy in RG Kar rape-murder case sentenced to life imprisonment, former NCW chief and Rajya Sabha MP Rekha Sharma says, "It is very unfortunate. I think the investigations done by Kolkata Police were presented in front of the CBI and because of the… pic.twitter.com/CvPkaeH3Te
— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2025
“I’m being framed”
“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 a 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.
