Kolkata’s Sealdah court on Saturday found Sanjay Roy, the key accused in the rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, guilty under three sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The verdict was delivered by Anirban Das, Additional District and Sessions Judge, in a packed courtroom.
The judge announced that the quantum of punishment would be decided on Monday.
Addressing Roy, the judge said, “The minimum punishment for your crime is life imprisonment, and the maximum punishment is death sentence.” Roy, however, maintained his innocence.
Partha Sarathi Dutta, the lawyer representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), confirmed that Roy was convicted under section 66 (rape), section 64 (causing injury resulting in death), and section 103(1) (murder) of the BNS. The trial was conducted in-camera and concluded on January 9.
“We demanded maximum possible punishment for Sanjay Roy,” said Dutta.
The case, which sparked mass protests across India, prompted the Calcutta High Court to order a CBI inquiry on August 13. On September 20, the Chief Justice of India’s bench took over the hearing through a suo motu petition.
Roy, a former civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was arrested hours after the crime. The CBI framed charges against him on October 4. The trial proceeded daily, except on holidays, for two months at Sealdah court. The judge examined 51 witnesses during the proceedings.
Roy’s lawyer, Saurav Banerjee, argued that the evidence presented by the CBI was planted to implicate his client. “The evidence was fabricated,” Banerjee claimed during the trial, according to lawyers present in court.
Amartya Dey, representing the victim’s family, demanded a death sentence for Roy but suggested he was not the sole perpetrator. “We believe others were involved,” Dey said.
The victim’s parents approached the Supreme Court earlier this month, demanding action against other suspects. They alleged their daughter’s murder was part of a larger conspiracy.
The CBI has yet to file charges against Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College, and Abhijit Mondal, the former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, despite their arrests on charges of tampering with evidence.
Dr Ghosh is also under investigation in a separate case involving financial irregularities at the hospital.
Speaking before the verdict, the victim’s father criticised the investigation, claiming, “We want to see Roy punished, but it was not possible for him to commit the crime alone. The DNA tests conducted by the CBI indicated the presence of four other persons at the crime scene.”
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