KEY POINTS
- Sentence to be announced on Monday which may range from life to death penalty
- The incident highlights rising sexual violence against women in India
- In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape
NEW DELHI, India: A court in Kolkata on Saturday convicted a police volunteer for the rape and murder of a junior doctor, a case that reignited concerns over rising sexual violence against women in India.
The gruesome incident had triggered a wave of violent protests and doctors’ strikes across the country, underscoring the lack of safety for women even in professional settings.
The murder of the 31-year-old on-duty junior physician at a hospital in Kolkata in August last year once again brought to the forefront the suffocating environment for women in India.
The court, presided over by Judge Anirban Das, said the sentence for 33-year-old Sanjay Roy will be announced on Monday. Which “can range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.”
On August 9, 2024, Police found the bloodied body of the woman in the seminar hall of the city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospitals. An autopsy later revealed that the victim had been strangled and confirmed signs of sexual assault.
Roy was arrested the following day and has since consistently pleaded innocent.
The case was initially being investigated by the Kolkata police but later the court handed over the probe to federal investigators after state government officers were accused of mishandling the investigation.
The parents of the victim, who cannot be named under Indian law, expressed dissatisfaction with the probe, saying the crime could not have been committed by just one person.
“Our daughter could not have met such a horrific end by a single man,” her father said. “We will remain in pain and agony until all the culprits are punished.”
Police also charged the officer heading the local police station at the time of the crime and the then-head of the hospital with destruction of the crime scene and tampering with evidence.
The police officer is out on bail while the former head of the hospital remains in detention in connection with a separate case of financial irregularities at the hospital.
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After 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 on the streets, demanding justice for the victim as they participated in “Reclaim the Night” marches. Some protesters called for the perpetrator of the crime to be given the death penalty.
Rising sexual violence in India
The incident highlighted rising sexual violence against women in India and prompted India’s Supreme Court to set up a national task force that suggested ways to enhance safety measures in government hospitals.
Many cases of crimes against women go 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 the community sometimes shames victims of sexual assault and families worry about their social standing.
Still, the number of recorded rape cases in the country has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape — a 20 per cent jump from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
In 2012, the gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus galvanized massive protests across India. It inspired lawmakers to order 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 repeat offenders.
The rape law amended in 2013 also criminalised stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.
