RG Kar rape & murder accused gets life term till death

Kolkata: The accused in the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital — Sanjay Roy—was sentenced to life imprisonment until death after he was convicted by a court.

Kar had rape and murdered an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. However, the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah Anirban Das, Rejected demands for the death penalty saying it was not a “rarest of the rare” crime.

The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor. “The CBI prayed for the death penalty. The defence lawyer prayed that a jail term be given instead of the death penalty This crime does not fall under the rarest of the rare category,” the judge said.

“I am sentencing you to life imprisonment, meaning till the last day of your life, for causing injury during the act of committing rape on the victim that led to her death…,” he told Roy.

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 given, 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.

Under Section 103(1), Roy has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a Rs 50,000 fine, and another five months in jail if the fine remains unpaid. Additionally, under Section 66, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment till death, the judge said. All the sentences will run concurrently, the judge said.