In what the parents of the victim called a “travesty of justice,” for which they held the Kolkata Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) responsible, the Sealdah Sessions Court on Monday sentenced convict Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment until death - and not death, as the prosecution and the public had wanted - for committing the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate lady doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy, a former civic volunteer who was working with the West Bengal Police at the time, was pronounced guilty of the RGKMCH rape and murder case on Saturday, with the quantum of punishment delivered by District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das on Monday.
Judge Das stated that the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category, which is why he did not impose the death penalty on the convict. He also ordered the State Government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the parents who lost their daughter in the chilling crime “that shook the conscience of the country.” Roy was found guilty on January 18, 2025, under sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the BNS.
However, the mother of the victim, who broke down in tears immediately after the judgment was pronounced, said, “We cannot discard the order, but we think it is a rarest of rare case, as the rape and murder occurred inside the workplace, which is a second home, and that too by a civic police officer who is considered a protector of citizens.” The family did not want money; they wanted justice, she said.
She trailed off, saying, “Now we have understood that it is not enough to be the parents of a meritorious child… or enough to labor hard to see the child succeed… it is also very important to be powerful and influential so that you can get justice.”
Her parents and other doctors immediately took out long processions throughout Kolkata and threatened another sit-in movement. They quoted forensic reports that found the presence of at least four different types of DNA inside the victim’s body. They also cited reports suggesting that the crime had been committed elsewhere, and the body was dumped inside the seminar hall. The family will move the higher court to challenge the order.
The victim’s body was found in a semi-nude condition inside the seminar hall of the Chest Medicine Department of the hospital in the early hours of August 9, triggering nationwide outrage.
Even as the medical fraternity, civil society, and the general public erupted in anger, promising a prolonged movement in the days to come, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee - whose government was primarily held responsible by the victim’s family for destroying evidence and hushing up the case - promptly laid the blame at the Centre’s door, calling it a failure of the central agencies that had been handling the case to ensure a death sentence for the convict.
“I am very upset… my party too is… we wanted the death sentence… All of us had demanded the death sentence, but the court has given a life term until death. The case was forcibly taken from us. Had it been with the Kolkata Police, we would have ensured that he was given a death sentence… We don’t know how they conducted the investigation. In many similar cases that were probed by the State Police, the death penalty was ensured in a record time of 55 to 60 days recently… I am not satisfied with the proceedings,” the Chief Minister said.
Following allegations that the Calcutta Police, led by then Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, was engaged in a cover-up, the Calcutta High Court had promptly transferred the case to the CBI, which expressed its displeasure at how the crime scene had been tampered with.
After taking up the case, the CBI arrested the then Principal of RGKMCH, Sandip Ghosh, and the officer in charge of the local Tala Police Station on charges of destroying evidence. Ghosh was also arrested for running a multi-crore racket, which included smuggling medical waste and other various crimes. However, the CBI failed to submit the supplementary chargesheet, and both Ghosh and the officer managed to obtain bail.
Junior doctors and other medical staff of the college complain that Abhaya, the victim, had to pay with her life because she had protested against what was happening inside the hospital. Incidentally, Ghosh is known for his close ties to top political circles in the State, which is why he evaded action despite repeated complaints being sent to the Health Ministry and even to the Police authorities about his alleged corrupt acts.
Interestingly, as Mamata Banerjee is both the Health Minister and Home Minister of the State, the political opposition has roundly held her government responsible for a number of scams plaguing the medical campus.
While the parents of the victim directly blamed the Chief Minister and her government for a “miscarriage of justice,” calling it an “institutional murder,” Opposition BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Chief Minister is blaming the CBI, but the police had destroyed the case well before it was handed over to the CBI… They will have to answer why the crime scene was allowed to be disturbed by so many outsiders… why the adjoining walls were demolished… why the vaginal swab of the victim was not preserved at the correct temperature… who sent Sanjoy Roy to that room… and why the CFSL reports were not properly evaluated.”
Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, on the other hand, said, “The common people of Bengal are disappointed… The people will never believe this government again.”
The Left also lambasted the State Government and the CBI, with State CPI(M) Secretary Md Salim saying, “Like the Sharada, Narada, and teachers’ job scams, this is another instance of how the Centre and the State work in close cooperation.”
Life sentence for Sanjoy Roy
Saugar Sengupta n Kolkata
In what the parents of the victim called a “travesty of justice,” for which they held the Kolkata Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) responsible, the Sealdah Sessions Court on Monday sentenced convict Sanjoy Roy to life imprisonment until death - and not death, as the prosecution and the public had wanted - for committing the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate lady doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy, a former civic volunteer who was working with the West Bengal Police at the time, was pronounced guilty of the RGKMCH rape and murder case on Saturday, with the quantum of punishment delivered by District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das on Monday.
Judge Das stated that the crime did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category, which is why he did not impose the death penalty on the convict. He also ordered the State Government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the parents who lost their daughter in the chilling crime “that shook the conscience of the country.” Roy was found guilty on January 18, 2025, under sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the BNS.
However, the mother of the victim, who broke down in tears immediately after the judgment was pronounced, said, “We cannot discard the order, but we think it is a rarest of rare case, as the rape and murder occurred inside the workplace, which is a second home, and that too by a civic police officer who is considered a protector of citizens.” The family did not want money; they wanted justice, she said.
She trailed off, saying, “Now we have understood that it is not enough to be the parents of a meritorious child… or enough to labor hard to see the child succeed… it is also very important to be powerful and influential so that you can get justice.”
Her parents and other doctors immediately took out long processions throughout Kolkata and threatened another sit-in movement. They quoted forensic reports that found the presence of at least four different types of DNA inside the victim’s body. They also cited reports suggesting that the crime had been committed elsewhere, and the body was dumped inside the seminar hall. The family will move the higher court to challenge the order.
The victim’s body was found in a semi-nude condition inside the seminar hall of the Chest Medicine Department of the hospital in the early hours of August 9, triggering nationwide outrage.
Even as the medical fraternity, civil society, and the general public erupted in anger, promising a prolonged movement in the days to come, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee - whose government was primarily held responsible by the victim’s family for destroying evidence and hushing up the case - promptly laid the blame at the Centre’s door, calling it a failure of the central agencies that had been handling the case to ensure a death sentence for the convict.
“I am very upset… my party too is… we wanted the death sentence… All of us had demanded the death sentence, but the court has given a life term until death. The case was forcibly taken from us. Had it been with the Kolkata Police, we would have ensured that he was given a death sentence… We don’t know how they conducted the investigation. In many similar cases that were probed by the State Police, the death penalty was ensured in a record time of 55 to 60 days recently… I am not satisfied with the proceedings,” the Chief Minister said.
Following allegations that the Calcutta Police, led by then Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, was engaged in a cover-up, the Calcutta High Court had promptly transferred the case to the CBI, which expressed its displeasure at how the crime scene had been tampered with.
After taking up the case, the CBI arrested the then Principal of RGKMCH, Sandip Ghosh, and the officer in charge of the local Tala Police Station on charges of destroying evidence. Ghosh was also arrested for running a multi-crore racket, which included smuggling medical waste and other various crimes. However, the CBI failed to submit the supplementary chargesheet, and both Ghosh and the officer managed to obtain bail.
Junior doctors and other medical staff of the college complain that Abhaya, the victim, had to pay with her life because she had protested against what was happening inside the hospital. Incidentally, Ghosh is known for his close ties to top political circles in the State, which is why he evaded action despite repeated complaints being sent to the Health Ministry and even to the Police authorities about his alleged corrupt acts.
Interestingly, as Mamata Banerjee is both the Health Minister and Home Minister of the State, the political opposition has roundly held her government responsible for a number of scams plaguing the medical campus.
While the parents of the victim directly blamed the Chief Minister and her government for a “miscarriage of justice,” calling it an “institutional murder,” Opposition BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Chief Minister is blaming the CBI, but the police had destroyed the case well before it was handed over to the CBI… They will have to answer why the crime scene was allowed to be disturbed by so many outsiders… why the adjoining walls were demolished… why the vaginal swab of the victim was not preserved at the correct temperature… who sent Sanjoy Roy to that room… and why the CFSL reports were not properly evaluated.”
Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury, on the other hand, said, “The common people of Bengal are disappointed… The people will never believe this government again.”
The Left also lambasted the State Government and the CBI, with State CPI(M) Secretary Md Salim saying, “Like the Sharada, Narada, and teachers’ job scams, this is another instance of how the Centre and the State work in close cooperation.”