An Indian police volunteer was convicted of raping and murdering a doctor at a hospital in the eastern Kolkata city, a crime which had sparked nationwide protests last year.
Sanjay Roy’s conviction came five months after the 31-year-old junior doctor’s body was found in the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on 9 August.
An autopsy confirmed rape and murder, sparking widespread protests that saw doctors and medical staff striking work for several weeks to demand justice for her.
On Saturday, a Kolkata court handed down the guilty verdict to Roy. The trial was held behind closed doors due to concerns about his safety.
“Your guilt is proved. You are being convicted,” the judge told Roy, adding: “The way you throttled the victim, you can be given death or imprisonment”.
Sentencing was set for Monday.
The trial began on 12 November and saw nearly 50 witnesses examined.
As the ruling came, the victim’s father broke down and told the judge: "You have honoured the faith that I reposed in you."
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation, claiming the crime could not have been committed by a single person.
“Our daughter could not have met such a horrific end by a single man,” he said. “We will remain in pain and agony until all the culprits are punished.”
Roy, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, said he was “falsely implicated”.
“I have not done this, those who have done this why are they being let go,” he said.
Roy’s lawyer had argued that there were glaring discrepancies in the investigation and forensic examination reports.
India’s federal police who investigated the case described the crime as “rarest of rare” and demanded the death penalty for Roy.
A crowd that had gathered outside the court in anticipation of the verdict shouted slogans demanding justice for the victim and capital punishment for Roy.
Dr Aniket Mahato, a spokesperson for the protesting junior doctors, said street protests would continue “until justice is done”.
The judge said the safety and security of the accused was important and sent him back to jail, where he would be kept under security.
The trainee doctor had settled down in the seminar hall for rest after working nearly 20 hours of a 36-hour shift when she was assaulted, according to staff at the RG Kar Medical College.
Her colleagues said she slept on a floor carpet as there were no dormitories or resting rooms for doctors.
The rape and murder sparked nationwide protests, reminiscent of the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. In that instance, a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was raped and brutally assaulted with a metal bar on a bus in Delhi on 16 December 2012, before being dumped on a road. She died of internal injuries nearly two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
