The Sealdah court will declare Roy’s sentence on Monday, after hearing his statement. The judgment was pronounced nearly two months after the in-camera trial
By: India Weekly
A KOLKATA court on Saturday (18) declared Sanjay Roy “guilty” of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
The Sealdah court, where Roy’s trial was held, will declare his sentence on Monday, Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge, said.
The judgment was pronounced nearly two months after the in-camera trial commenced in November last year and 162 days after the heinous crime was committed on August 9, 2024.
Roy was found guilty under Sections 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that governs rape, and Sections 66 and 103 (1) of the Act, which deals with punishments for death and murder.
Section 103 (1) of BNS entails a possible punishment of death or life imprisonment.
The judge stated that Roy was found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and strangulating her to death, and that the CBI had proven all the charges against him.
Das said Roy’s statement will be heard at 12:30 pm on Monday, and the sentence will be pronounced thereafter.
At the time of the delivery of the verdict, Roy claimed in court that he was framed.
In his defence, Roy said, “I wear a rudraksh necklace, and if I had committed the crime, it would have snapped.”
After the judgment, police whisked away Roy from the courtroom to the Presidency Correctional Home under strict vigil, preventing the waiting media persons from attempting any kind of interaction with the convict.
The medic’s parents thanked the judge for the guilty verdict and said the court honoured the trust they had reposed in it.
“That Sanjay is guilty was proved through biological evidence. And that he stood silent during the trials in the court also proved his hand in torturing and killing my daughter. But he was not alone, there are others who haven’t been arrested yet. So, justice hasn’t been delivered,” the victim’s mother told PTI soon after the court convicted Roy.
She said she and her husband would continue their fight for justice till the last day of their lives.
“The case is not complete. It will only be completed after the others who were involved in killing our daughter are punished. We will wait for that day… Till that day, we will not be able to sleep. That is the only thing we want now,” she said.
In its chargesheet, the CBI had mentioned Roy, a civic volunteer with the city police, as the prime and sole suspect of committing the gruesome rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee at the state-run hospital.
The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the case initially, arrested Roy on August 10, a day after the medic’s body was recovered from the seminar room of the hospital.
The Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the CBI, which had sought death penalty for the accused.
The in-camera trial in the rape and murder of the doctor commenced on November 12, and 50 witnesses were examined.
Hearing of the trial concluded on January 9.
The crime led to nationwide outrage and sparked a debate about the safety of women healthcare professionals in state-run hospitals.
Members of the civil society in Kolkata and some other cities of the state took out midnight rallies, calling those ‘Reclaim the Night’ to demand justice for the doctor, who was christened ‘Abhaya’ by some and ‘Tilottama’ by others.
No plan to challenge conviction: Sanjay’s sister
Minutes after the conviction of Sanjay Roy, his elder sister said the family has no plan to challenge the order on its own in any court.
The middle-aged woman, her face partially covered in dupatta, told reporters at a shanty in Bhawanipore area that she had not visited the Sealdah Court room where her brother was produced and the court pronounced him guilty.
“Please leave me alone. We are shattered,” she said when reporters asked her if she thought her brother was really guilty.
“If he has committed any crime, he should get proper punishment. We don’t have any plan to challenge the order on our part. I am living in my in-laws house. I don’t have any contact with my family since my marriage in 2007 while my mother is not well,” she said.
The woman, who did not wish to divulge her identity or name, said her brother used to be like any normal boy during his childhood days.
“As he grew up, he turned to booze but apart from that I myself did not ever hear any case about Sanjay misbehaving with any woman,” she said.
She claimed she was not in regular contact with him in the past few years and he used to live in a separate locality.
Roy’s mother who lives nearby in the same cluster opposite Sambhunath Pandit Hospital, refused to speak to the media.
“I have nothing to say. Please leave me alone,” she said.
People of the neighbourhood, who guided reporters to the residence of the relatives, gathered near the residence.
“If he is convicted of the heinous crime he should be punished. But if others are involved in the case, they should not be allowed to go scot-free,” Umesh Mahato, a neighbour, said. (PTI)