Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

A woman walks past a mural painted on a roadside wall in Ajmer on August 17, 2024, condemning the rape and murder of a doctor in India's West Bengal state. Himanshu Sharma, AFP/File

Article (news)

India

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17373694674461724835017452AFP__20240817__36EA3BH__v3__Preview__TopshotIndiaWomenDoctorsStrikeMural.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A woman walks past a mural painted on a roadside wall in Ajmer on August 17, 2024, condemning the rape and murder of a doctor in India&#x27;s West Bengal state. <em>Himanshu Sharma, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>KOLKATA, India — The rapist and murderer of an Indian doctor was sentenced to life in prison Monday, a crime that sparked nationwide protests and widespread hospital strikes last year.</p><p>Her weeping family had called for the convicted killer to be hanged and said they were &quot;shocked&quot; at the sentence, for a case that highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the world&#x27;s most populous country.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/8/28/indian-rape-protests-spiral-into-political-street-clashes-1648">Indian rape protests spiral into political street clashes</a></div><p>But Judge Anirban Das said the case did not deserve the death penalty as it was not &quot;the rarest of the rare cases&quot;, and ordered that Sanjoy Roy must spend his life behind bars.</p><p>The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor&#x27;s bloodied body at a government hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata in August 2024 sparked outrage.</p><p>Roy, 33, the lone accused in the case, was arrested a day after the victim&#x27;s body was discovered.</p><p>The murder led to demands by doctors at government hospitals for additional security, with thousands of citizens in Kolkata and elsewhere in India joining doctors&#x27; protests in solidarity.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/8/21/-abuse-every-day-indian-female-medics-speak-out-after-brutal-murder-1757">&#x27;Abuse every day&#x27;: Indian female medics speak out after brutal murder</a></div><p>India&#x27;s Supreme Court last year ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for healthcare workers, saying the brutality of the killing had &quot;shocked the conscience of the nation&quot;.</p><p>The trial of Roy, who pleaded not guilty and repeatedly insisted on his innocence was fast-tracked through India&#x27;s normally glacial legal system.</p><p>The victim&#x27;s mother, who was seated close to Roy when he was convicted on Saturday, has said the family wanted him to be hanged.</p><p>&quot;We are shocked by the verdict&quot;, the victim&#x27;s father told AFP, tears running down his face.</p><p>&quot;We will continue our fight, and won&#x27;t let investigations stop... Come what may, we will fight for justice.&quot;</p><p>Family members cannot be identified in keeping with Indian law around the reporting of sexual violence cases.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/8/17/indian-doctors-stage-nationwide-strike-over-colleague-s-rape-and-murder-1805">Indian doctors stage nationwide strike over colleague&#x27;s rape and murder</a></div><p>The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.</p><p>India imposes the death penalty, although it is rarely carried out in practice.</p><p>The last executions carried out in India were in March 2020 -- of four men convicted of the 2012 rape and murder on the Delhi bus.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5l-CtezNMOU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The victim's weeping family had called for the convicted killer to be hanged and said they were "shocked" at the life sentence.</p>

The victim's weeping family had called for the convicted killer to be hanged and said they were "shocked" at the life sentence.

Indian rapist murderer of doctor sentenced to life in prison: judge

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Indian rapist murderer of doctor sentenced to life in prison: judge

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 20, 2025 07:10 PM PHT

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India

Kolkata

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rape murder

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