Sanjay Roy, the accused in the horrific RG Kar rape and murder case, has been awarded life imprisonment by a CBI court. The court also slapped a fine of ₹50,000 on Roy, who was brought to the court amid tight security arrangements.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das convicted Roy on Saturday. Das held Roy guilty of the heinous crime committed against the young doctor at the hospital on August 9, 2024.
Furthermore, the court directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of ₹17 lakh to the deceased trainee doctor's family. The court also said that the crime did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category as a justification for not giving death penalty to the convict.
“I think this is not a case of rarest of the rare. That’s why I am giving you imprisonment till your death,” the judge was quoted as saying by India Today.
The sentence was announced after hearing the final statements of the convicts and his counsels placed in self-defence as well as that of the victim's family. During the hearing, Roy claimed his innocence, saying that he has been framed without any reason.
"I told you before that I always wear a Rudraksha chain. If I had committed the crime, it would have broken at the crime scene. I was not allowed to speak. They forced me to sign many papers. I was not given a chance to speak. You have seen all of this, sir. I told you before as well," Roy told the court.
Calling it a rarest of the rare case, the CBI demanded death penalty for the accused. The CBI lawyer said that being a meritorious student, the victim was "an asset to the society" and that the incident has shaken the entire community.
"If even doctors are not safe, then what can be said? Only the death penalty can restore confidence in society. We must restore society's faith in the justice system."
Roy was held guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
(With India Today, PTI inputs)