'Travesty Of Justice': BJP Demands RG Kar Rape-Murder Verdict To Be Appealed, Mamata Also Unhappy

Last Updated:January 20, 2025, 17:11 IST

The Sealdah court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment for raping and murdering a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year and asked him to pay Rs 50,000 fine.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was 'not satisfied' with the RG Kar Hospital Rape-Murder verdict. (PTI file photo)

The Sealdah Court on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy – the convict in the RG Kar rape and murder case – to life imprisonment, denying CBI’s request for a death penalty. The verdict received mixed reactions from the public, with political leaders calling it a “travesty of justice".

The court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment for raping and murdering a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year and asked him to pay Rs 50,000 fine. Judge Anirban Das also directed the state of West Bengal to pay Rs 17 lakh to the victim’s family as compensation, which they denied.

The CBI had argued that the case constituted as the “rarest of the rare" and sought the capital punishment for the accused. However, the judge observed that that it was not the “rarest of the rare case“, and awarded a life sentence to Roy who persistently claimed innocence throughout.

‘Travesty Of Justice’: Politicians React To Verdict

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted angrily to the RG Kar rape-murder verdict, blaming the West Bengal government of destroying evidence and weakening the case, calling for it to be appealed in a higher court.

“Life imprisonment and a 50,000-rupee fine for Sanjoy Roy, accused in the RG Kar rape and murder case, is a travesty of justice. The verdict must be appealed. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must stop shielding the criminal," said BJP IT Cell In-Charge Amit Malviya, calling for a probe in the role of Kolkata Commissioner and CM’s role in destruction of evidence.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said West Bengal has become most dangerous for women and accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of defending rapists. “Verdict has been delivered but Justice is awaited fully.. West Bengal police had destroyed a lot of evidence to weaken the case when CBI stepped in," he said.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat also expressed dismay with the verdict. “Kerala court gave death sentence to a girl because the girl was proven to have poisoned her boyfriend… It shows the failure of our laws to bring justice in cases of crimes against women, particularly rape and murder because there are such different standards which are being applied," she said.

Mamata Banerjee ‘Not Satisfied’ With Verdict

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said she was not satisfied with the verdict and reiterated that her party wants the capital punishment for the accused.

“We have always demanded capital punishment and we continue to stand by it. However, this is the court’s decision and I can’t say much about this. For three other cases, state police ensured capital punishment through thorough investigations concluded within 54-60 days," she said.

Banerjee said that had the case been under the purview of Kolkata police, the death penalty would have been assured. “Even though we had said that we would hand over the case if needed, the case was deliberately taken away from us," she said, saying it took the CBI five months to seek the death penalty for Roy.

She also lauded the Kolkata Police for acting swiftly and arresting Roy within 24 hours of the crime, but lamented that the case was transferred to the CBI due to “political pressure". She also accused the BJP and CPI(M) of exploiting the incident for political mileage and orchestrating misinformation to mislead the public.

“Our primary goal was always to secure the harshest possible punishment for the convict. I am not satisfied with this verdict," she said.

“We are not satisfied with the verdict of the Court. The court gave death sentences in those cases which were under West Bengal police. The RG Kar case was under the CBI, had it been under Kolkata police, the punishment would have been the death penalty," senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh told ANI.

‘We Are Shocked’: Family Dismayed With Verdict

The parents of the deceased medic in the RG Kar Hospital case said they were not satisfied with the verdict, claiming the investigation was done half-heartedly and several other culprits involved in the crime were shielded.

“We are shocked. How is this not the rarest of rare cases? An on-duty doctor was raped and murdered. We are dismayed. There was a larger conspiracy behind this crime," the mother told news agency PTI, saying they would appeal to a higher court.

The victim’s father refused to accept any compensation, saying he only wanted justice for his daughter. “I don’t think money can compensate any death. It was the liability of state to protect ur daughter as she was on duty (when she was raped and murdered). This is a statutory provision. If you take it, you can use it," said the judge.

The gruesome crime on August 9, 2024, had led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests. Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was arrested on August 10, a day after the 31-year-old medic’s body was found in the seminar room of the hospital.

Found guilty of sexually assaulting the doctor and throttling her to death, Roy was convicted by the judge under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

News politics 'Travesty Of Justice': BJP Demands RG Kar Rape-Murder Verdict To Be Appealed, Mamata Also Unhappy