---
title: "Indian police volunteer gets life sentence for rape, murder of Kolkata junior doctor"
description: "KOLKATA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - An Indian court awarded the life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a rare crime."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Crime"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-20-indian-police-volunteer-gets-life-sentence-for-rape-murder-of-kolkata-junior-doctor/"
published: "2025-01-20T12:58:09"
updated: "2025-01-20T12:58:10"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 386
---

# Indian police volunteer gets life sentence for rape, murder of Kolkata junior doctor

> KOLKATA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - An Indian court awarded the life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a rare crime.

By Reuters · Published 20 January 2025, 14:58 SAST · Updated 20 January 2025, 14:58 SAST

## Key points
- In a courtroom drama that could rival a Bollywood thriller, a man was sentenced to life for the rape and murder of a junior doctor, while protests by outraged colleagues continue to demand justice and better security for women in India's hospitals, proving that sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a crime scene is the bureaucracy that surrounds it.
- A junior doctor's body was discovered at R G Kar Medical College, igniting national outrage and calls for better hospital security.
- Sanjay Roy was convicted of her rape and murder, with the judge rejecting the prosecution's demand for the death penalty.
- The judge sentenced Roy to life imprisonment, stating the crime did not meet the "rarest-of-rare" criteria for capital punishment.
- The victim's parents expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation, suspecting a larger conspiracy and demanding further accountability.

## Content

The woman's body was found in a classroom at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug. 9. Other doctors stayed off work for weeks to demand justice for her and [better security](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3KU0MR&linkedFromStory=true) at public hospitals, as the crime sparked [national outrage](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3K00FQ&linkedFromStory=true) over a lack of safety for women.

Sanjay Roy, the police volunteer, was [convicted](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N3OE00R&linkedFromStory=true) by judge Anirban Das on Saturday who said circumstantial evidence had proved the charges against Roy.

Roy said he was innocent and that he had been framed, and sought clemency.

The federal police, who investigated the case, said the crime belonged to the "rarest-of-rare" category and Roy, therefore, deserved the death penalty.

"I do not consider it as a rarest-of-rare crime," judge Das said and sentenced Roy to life in jail on both the counts of rape and murder. "Life imprisonment, meaning imprisonment until death."

The judge said that he had come to the conclusion that it was not a rarest-of-rare crime after considering all the evidence and the circumstances linked to it. He said Roy could go in appeal to a higher court.

The sentence was announced in a packed courtroom as the judge allowed the public to witness proceedings on Monday. The speedy trial in the court was not open to the public.

The parents of the junior doctor were among those in court on Monday. Security was stepped up with dozens of police personnel deployed at the court complex.

The parents had earlier said that they were not satisfied with the probe and suspected more people were involved in the crime.

Their lawyer, Amartya Dey, told Reuters on Monday that they had sought the death penalty for Roy and also demanded that those involved in what they called the "larger conspiracy" be brought to book.

[Protesting doctors](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3KA174&linkedFromStory=true) had said that street protests would continue until justice was done.

India's federal police cited 128 witnesses in its investigation, of whom 51 were examined during the fast-tracked trial that [began](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3MI0AK&linkedFromStory=true) in November.

Police had also [charged](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3KX00U&linkedFromStory=true) the officer heading the local police station and the head of the college at the time of the crime with destruction of the crime scene and tampering with evidence.

(Reporting by Subrata Nag Choudhary in Kolkata; Additional reporting by Sakshi Dayal and Sudipto Ganguly; Writing by YP Rajesh)