Female doctor’s bloodied body was found in a classroom at a state-run college and hospital in Kolkata last August.
A police volunteer has been convicted of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a hospital in India that led to nationwide protests last year.
The Civil and Criminal Court in Sealdah found 33-year-old Sanjay Roy guilty of the rape and murder of the female trainee, whose bloodied body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last August, with the case exposing the country’s struggle with sexual violence against women.
Judge Anirban Das, who presided over the fast-tracked trial, said the defendant, who protested his innocence in court and insists he was framed, could face life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced on Monday.
“Your guilt is proved. You are being convicted,” the judge announced, saying that charges had been proven by circumstantial evidence.
Roy’s lawyers, who have not yet commented on the verdict, argue that there were glaring discrepancies in the investigation and forensic examination reports in the trial, which started on November 11 and saw 51 witnesses examined.
The parents of the 31-year-old victim, who cannot be named under Indian law, expressed dissatisfaction with the probe, saying the crime could not 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. My daughter’s soul will not rest in peace until she gets justice.”
Seeking justice
More than 200 armed police personnel were deployed in anticipation of the verdict.
As Roy was brought to court in a police car, protesters chanted: “Hang him, hang him.”
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 gruesome nature of the attack led to weeks of nationwide protests, drawing comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital, New Delhi. It led to demands by doctors at government hospitals for additional security.
India’s Supreme Court set up a national task force after the protests that suggested ways to enhance safety measures in government hospitals.
India’s federal police, who investigated the case, also charged the officer heading the local police station at the time of the crime and the then-head of the hospital with destruction of the crime scene and tampering with evidence.
The police officer is out on bail while the former head of the hospital remains in detention in connection with a separate case of financial irregularities at the hospital.
