RG Kar convict Sanjay Roy found guilty of rape-murder; TMC demands death penalty

Kolkata: A Kolkata court on Saturday convicted prime accused Sanjay Roy of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, 162 days after the crime that sparked nationwide outrage and led to prolonged protests. The Sealdah court, where Roy's trial was held, will announce the quantum of punishment on Monday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das said. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata police was arrested on August 10, 2024, a day after the 31-year-old medic’s body was found in the seminar room of the hospital. He was charged under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Section 103(1) carries a possible punishment of death or life imprisonment. The judge said Roy was found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and strangling her to death and that the CBI had proven all the charges against him. Das observed that Roy had entered the hospital around 4 am and attacked the on-duty doctor while she was asleep in the seminar room of the hospital. "You sexually assaulted the doctor. You throttled her and covered her face and she ultimately died owing to the attack," he said. "...On the basis of the statements of the witnesses and the documents produced in this matter, your guilt has been proved and you are being pronounced guilty," the judge said.

The judge said the more than 160-page judgement, which will be completed after the pronouncement of the sentence on Monday, will also categorically answer some questions raised by the complainant, the father of the victim. "I have criticised some activities of police authority as well as the hospital authority which came out in the evidence," the judge said. He noted that the case of the prosecution stood on circumstantial evidence. 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 verdict delivery, Roy claimed in court that he had been framed. In his defence, Roy said, "I wear a rudrakash necklace, and if I had committed the crime, it would have snapped.” Following the verdict, Roy was escorted under strict police security to the Presidency Correctional Home, preventing waiting media persons from speaking to him.

The parents of the deceased doctor expressed gratitude to the court for delivering justice, with her father stating: "The trust we had placed in you, you have honoured it completely." The mother of the victim, while hailing the verdict, voiced concerns that justice had not been fully served. "That Sanjay is guilty was proven by medical evidence. He stood silent during the trials, proving his role in torturing and killing my daughter. But, he was not alone. Others who are yet to be arrested should also be brought to book," she said. She said: "We will continue our fight for justice till our last breath." Investigators alleged that he acted alone, but the victim’s family and junior doctors’ groups suspected a wider conspiracy. Reacting to the verdict, Roy’s elder sister told reporters from her home in Bhawanipore that the family would not challenge the court’s decision. "If he has committed any crime, he should get proper punishment. We don’t plan to challenge the order," she said, adding that family members did not attend the trial.

The junior doctors, who were at the forefront of the protests following the crime, have called for further investigation into the larger conspiracy allegations raised by the victim’s parents. "There are a lot of unanswered questions. Allegations that the crime scene was tampered with and that influential people were involved must be fully investigated. This is just partial justice. The fight isn’t over," said a junior medic. The crime sent shockwaves across the nation, triggering protests over workplace safety for medical professionals. The verdict also evoked mixed political reactions. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the judgement but called for further investigation into the conspiracy allegations by the victim’s family. "We would have been happier if former RG Kar hospital principal Sandip Ghosh and former Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal were also punished today. We must investigate whether anyone else was involved in the crime," he said.

The ruling TMC in West Bengal on Saturday welcomed the conviction of Sanjay Roy in the rape and murder of the doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, calling for the "death penalty" to set a strong precedent. A trial court in Sealdah found Roy, a civic volunteer, guilty of raping and murdering the on-duty doctor at the state-run hospital on August 9. The court is set to pronounce the sentence on Monday. Senior TMC MP Sougata Roy said, "The ruling must be followed by the harshest punishment possible for Roy." "This will not only serve as a warning to others who think they can get away with lawlessness but also restore people's faith in the system. We need to ensure that such actions are met with the strongest deterrent," he said. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh condemned the vilification of the investigation, which he claimed was done to serve vested political interests. "We have said repeatedly that the RG Kar incident is horrific and condemnable. The CM herself condemned it in the strongest words and demanded the death penalty for the culprit. Kolkata Police arrested the perpetrator within 24 hours," he asserted. "We denounced the incident from the very beginning. However, a section of people tried to spread misinformation and mislead the public to fulfil their political and personal interests. In three similar cases after RG Kar, the state police acted swiftly, and the perpetrators were given capital punishment. We want the death penalty for this convict as well."

Initially investigated by the Kolkata police, the Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the CBI, which had sought the death penalty for Roy. The in-camera trial began on November 12 and saw 50 witnesses testify. The trial concluded on January 9. Civil society groups in Kolkata and other cities held demonstrations and midnight rallies under the ‘Reclaim the Night’ campaign, calling for justice for the victim, who was affectionately christened ‘Abhaya’ and ‘Tilottama’ by some people. Ahead of the pronouncement of the verdict, security at the Sealdah court complex was tightened significantly, with the Kolkata police erecting multiple barricades to control access and ensure the safety of all attendees. The crime also became a political flashpoint, with opposition parties, including the BJP and CPI(M), criticising the Mamata Banerjee-led government over the state’s law and order situation.