Police volunteer in India convicted of raping and murdering a doctor, sparking widespread protests

A police volunteer was found guilty of rape and murder of a medical trainee in India a crime which sparked nationwide protests and hospital strikes last year.

Judge Anirban Das said the sentence for 33-year-old Sanjay Roy would be announced on Monday and could range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

Last August, protests erupted in West Bengal demanding justice after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found with multiple injuries in the lecture hall of Kolkata’s RG Kar Government Medical College and Hospital. Authorities said at the time that the woman had gone to a lecture hall to rest during the night shift when she was attacked.

An autopsy later found that the victim had been raped and assaulted before she died. It also suggests that she resisted and may have been tortured before being killed.

Roy was arrested the day after the crime, but he was not not officially charged until nearly two months later. Since then, he has consistently maintained his innocence and told the court that he is not guilty.

The trial in the case was fast-tracked through India’s notoriously slow legal system, with hearings beginning in November. He also highlighted once again the chronic problem of violence against women in the country.

Following the incident, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding justice and better security for them. Thousands of women across the country also protested in the streets, demanding justice for the victim as they took part in “Reclaim The Night” marches. Some protesters called for the death penalty for the perpetrators of the crime.

The incident highlighted growing sexual violence against women in India and prompted India’s Supreme Court to set up a national task force to suggest ways to improve security measures at government hospitals.

Many cases crimes against women remain unreported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence, as well as a lack of faith in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where communities sometimes shame victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social status.

However, the number of recorded cases of rape in the country has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape — a 20% jump from 2021, according to the data National Criminal Records Office.

In 2012, gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi sparked mass protests across India. This inspired lawmakers to mandate harsher penalties for such crimes, as well as the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for returnees.

A rape law amended in 2013 also criminalized stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.