A policeman convicted of raping and killing a doctor in India avoids the death penalty, angering the victim’s family

An Indian court on Monday sentenced the police volunteer to life in prison to find him guilty in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor last year, a crime that sparked protests across the country about inadequate safety for women and led to speedy trials in the country’s slow justice system.

Sanjay Roy, 33, who has always maintained his innocence, can appeal the sentence to the high court.

The doctor’s family wept, saying they were “shocked” by the sentence and hoped his killer would be hanged. But Judge Anirban Das said the case did not deserve the death penalty as it was not “more rare than most cases,” and ordered that Roy spend the rest of his life in prison.

I the killing of a 31-year-old doctor while on duty at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata she highlighted the ongoing issue of violence against women in the country. The police found the body of this woman covered in blood in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last. An autopsy revealed that she had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

The Federal Police, investigating the case, said the crime deserved the death penalty. The victim’s parents also want Roy’s death sentence and they suspect that there are many people involved in this crime.

The case was initially investigated by the Kolkata Police but later the court transferred the investigation to government investigators after government officials were accused of mishandling the investigation.

After the attack, doctors and medical students across India held protests and communities seeking better security. Thousands of women also protested in the streets demanding immediate justice for the victim.

Indian doctors in government hospitals in all states have also hit to oppose rape and murder.

Roy was arrested a day after the crime, and the controversy in the case began in November. The attack prompted the Supreme Court of India to set up a national task force to suggest ways to improve security in government hospitals.

The mother and father of the deceased, who were sitting next to Roy in court on Monday, said they wanted Roy killed.

“We are shocked by the decision,” the victim’s father told AFP, tears streaming down his face.

“We will continue our fight, and we will not let the investigation stop… Whatever happens, we will fight for justice.”

Family members cannot be identified in accordance with Indian law on reporting sexual violence cases.

Ahead of his sentencing, Roy on Monday reiterated his innocence and “framed”.

Roy’s lawyer, Kabita Sarkar, said he was “not mentally strong” and said they would appeal the case.

Police stopped the crowds from coming to court, but thousands gathered nearby, many chanting: “Hang him, hang him.”

Many crimes against women go unreported in India because of the stigma attached to sexual violence, and distrust of the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where society sometimes shames victims of sexual abuse and families worry about their status in society.

The outrage and protests across the country were similar to those seen after the meeting 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus. That brutal attack prompted India to pass tougher laws against sexual violence, but according to the latest government data available, as recently as 2022 authorities were still registering around 90 rapes on average per day.

The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders. Four men sentenced to death for the 2012 case will be hanged in 2020.

The rape law that was 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.

Activists say the new sentencing requirements have not stopped rape and the number of recorded rape cases has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape – a 20% jump from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Last week, police in southern India 49 out of 64 men were arrested who is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl five years ago. The girl, who has not been identified, reportedly told investigators that she was sexually assaulted and raped by criminals many times since she was 13 years old.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.