A court in India has convicted a man of raping and murdering a trainee doctor – a crime that sparked outrage across the country.
Sanjay Roy, a hospital volunteer, was found guilty of the attack that took place in August last year at a hospital in the city of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal.
The incident sent shockwaves across the country, leading to widespread protests and concerns about the safety of healthcare workers in India, especially women.
Judge Anirban Das said the sentence, to be announced on Monday, would range from life imprisonment to the death penalty. Roy maintains his innocence and has previously said he was framed.
The victim’s mother told the AFP news agency that people will lose faith in the Indian legal system if Roy is not given the death penalty.
The body of the 31-year-old doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found on August 9, 2024 at the busy RG Kar Government Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
After a grueling 36-hour shift, she went to sleep in the hospital’s seminar room. Her half-naked, severely injured body was later discovered near the podium by a colleague.
An autopsy determined that the victim had been strangled and had injuries indicating a struggle.
According to an indictment filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seen by the BBC, Roy went to the hospital drunk and found the doctor sleeping alone.
He was arrested the day after the crime.
The case was initially investigated by the Kolkata police, but later the court handed over the probe to the CBI after government officials were accused of misconduct.
In the weeks following the incident, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding justice and better safety for doctors.
One such protest, “Reclaim the Night” March, saw tens of thousands of women walking the streets of Kolkata and other cities at night on August 14, ahead of India’s Independence Day.
In December, the victim’s parents petitioned the Calcutta High Court for a fresh probe, expressing lack of faith in the CBI probe.
They argued that Roy could not have committed the crime alone and said they would be satisfied only when all those involved were brought to justice. The high court said it would consider the statement only if the Supreme Court – which is monitoring the case – orders it to do so.
The incident has raised concerns over a rise in violence against healthcare workers in India – many of whom face physical abuse from angry patients or their relatives.
A 2017 survey by the Indian Medical Association found that more than 75% of doctors in India have experienced some form of violence. The survey also revealed that almost 63% of doctors fear possible violence while treating patients.
Meanwhile, sexual violence against women remains a widespread problem in India. More than 31,000 rapes were reported in India in 2022according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Many rape cases in India go unreported, mainly due to social stigma around sexual violence and lack of trust in the police and justice system. Activists say this often results in shaming the victim instead of the perpetrator, particularly in rural areas.
In 2012, the rape and murder of a medical student by a group of men in the Indian capital, Delhi, attracted global attention and sparked similar, wider protests.
Public outrage prompted authorities to amend rape laws in 2013. The changes broadened the definition of the crime, set tougher penalties for sexual assault and lowered the age at which a person can be tried from 18 to 16.
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