Kolkata court finds prime accused Sanjay Roy guilty in RG Kar case

Sanjay Roy was found guilty under Section 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

Kolkata: A Kolkata court on Saturday declared Sanjay Roy “guilty” of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a heinous crime that sparked nationwide outrage and prolonged protests.

The Sealdah court, where Roy’s trial was held, will declare his sentence on Monday, Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge, said.

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The judgement 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 strangling 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 judgement, 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.

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 prolonged protests by junior doctors in Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim and stronger security arrangements in state-run hospitals.

Opposition political parties, including the BJP and the CPI(M), protested the ghastly crime, but apolitical movements demanding justice were more visible, with members of the civil society being at the forefront.

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.