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Kolkata court to deliver verdict in RG Kar hospital rape and murder case on Jan 18
Sanjay Roy, who was earlier a civic volunteer with the Kolkata police, is the prime accused in the rape and murder case
KOLKATA: The in-camera day-to-day trial into the August 9 rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital ended on Thursday and the judge will pronounce the verdict on January 18, lawyers representing the victim’s parents and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Thursday.
“We have demanded maximum possible punishment for Sanjay Roy, the key accused,” CBI lawyer Partha Sarathi Dutta, said after the final hearing by additional district sessions judge Anirban Das.
The Calcutta high court handed over the probe to the CBI on August 13 amid nationwide protests across India.
A former Kolkata Police civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, was arrested by the city police hours after the crime. He was later handed over to the CBI which took up the probe. The federal agency submitted its first charge sheet in the case on October 7 and the special judge framed the charges against him on November 4.
The Sealdah court conducted the trial on a daily basis and examined 51 witnesses.
Roy’s lawyer Saurav Banerjee has claimed during proceedings that the evidence was planted to frame his client.
Amartya Dey, a lawyer representing the victim’s family, said: “We have demanded death sentence for Roy but he is not the sole perpetrator. The investigation must continue.”
CBI has not yet filed charges against Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, and Abhijit Mondal, the local Tala police station’s former officer-in-charge although both were arrested by CBI and charged with tampering of evidence. Ghosh also faces a separate case relating to financial irregularities at the hospital.
On Thursday, the victim’s father lamented that CBI followed the footsteps of the Kolkata police, which had claimed the rape and murder was committed by Roy.
“We want to see Roy punished but it was not possible for him to commit the crime alone. The DNA tests (done by CBI) indicated the presence of four other persons at the crime scene. These people should be arrested and put on trial,” the victim’s father, who recently moved the Calcutta high court and Supreme court demanding justice, said.
Junior doctors from medical colleges across Bengal continue their agitation to seek justice for the victim.
