RG Kar rape-murder case: The West Bengal government on Tuesday (January 21) moved to Calcutta High Court, seeking a death penalty for accused Sanjay Roy, who had been convicted of the rape and murder of an on-duty junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College on August 9, 2024.
Advocate General Kishore Dutta moved division bench Justice Debangshu Basak against the Sealdah court's decision sentencing Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment. The matter has been allowed to be filed.
Not satisfied: Mamata Banerjee on life imprisonment
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed dissatisfaction over a Kolkata court awarding life imprisonment to the convict and claimed that the probe was forcibly taken away from the state police, asserting that had it been with them, they would have ensured a death penalty.
Speaking to reporters in Murshidabad district, Banerjee also criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its probe into the rape-murder of the on-duty medic at the state-run hospital. "From day 1, all of us had demanded the death sentence, but the court has given a life term until death. We still stick to our demand. I can share my party's opinion; the case was forcibly taken from us. Had it been with the (Kolkata) police, we would have ensured that he got the death sentence," the CM said.
Court says crime ‘not rarest of the rare’
The Sealdah court, presided by Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das, on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment, after convicting him for the rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. The ghastly crime had led to unprecedented and prolonged nationwide protests.
Judge Das ruled that the crime did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category, for not imposing the death penalty on the convict. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The judge stated that under Section 64, life imprisonment is being awarded, along with a fine of Rs 50,000. An additional five months of imprisonment will be imposed upon non-payment of the fine, he added.
The case, which involves the rape and murder of a trainee doctor whose body was found on August 9 in the hospital's seminar room, sparked widespread protests. After the incident, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer at the hospital, was arrested in connection with the crime.
(With agencies input)
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