Sanjay Roy, accused in the rape and murder case of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, has been given life imprisonment instead of death sentence. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed displeasure over this decision. He said that if the case had been investigated by the state police instead of the CBI, the convict could have received death sentence. In this matter, Mamata government has now Appeal in High Court Kar has demanded death sentence for Sanjay Roy.
However, in this case, the Sealdah court, while sentencing the accused Sanjay Roy, raised serious questions on the investigation process of the Bengal Police. The court described the working style of the police as ‘extremely indifferent’ and expressed strong objection to several irregularities.
What did the court say about Bengal Police? read in detail
Judge Anirban Das decisions Said that Tala police station adopted a careless attitude from the very beginning of this case. Referring to the testimony of Sub-Inspector Subrata Chatterjee, he said that he prepared false documents and showed no hesitation in admitting it in the court. The judge said, “This shows serious negligence on the part of the police officers. I did not expect such testimony from a sub-inspector of police. “This proves how carelessly this sensitive matter was handled.”
Judge Anirban Das, referring to the statements made by Sub-Inspector Subrata Chatterjee in his deposition, said that he prepared false documents. He created a fake General Diary (GD) entry of the day of the incident, the time of which was 10:10 am. But it was proved that Subrata Chatterjee was not present in the police station at that time.
“He also said that he was instructed to do so, but did not say who gave the order,” the court said. The judge said that I condemn this act of Sub-Inspector Subrata Chatterjee. “The victim’s family had to wait for hours to file the complaint,” the court said.
The court also made sharp remarks regarding Assistant Sub-Inspector Anup Dutta. The court said, “Assistant Sub-Inspector Anup Dutta was lenient with the accused. This action was absolutely wrong.” At the same time, the court also expressed disappointment regarding Inspector Rupali Mukherjee. The court said, “Inspector Rupali Mukherjee taking the mobile phone from the accused on August 9, 2024 and leaving it unattended at Tala police station was also highly suspicious. “Although the phone was not tampered with, this negligence is clearly a serious lapse.”
#breaking Kolkata’s Sealdah Sessions court has released its 172-page judgment convicting and sentencing Sanjoy Roy in the #RGKar Rape and murder case.
The court has raised serious objections about the conduct of the then-SI of the Tala Police Station in registering the death as… pic.twitter.com/Tedbox0GMZ
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) January 20, 2025
The Court appealed to the Commissioner of Kolkata Police to strictly stop such negligent and illegal acts. He suggested that police officers need to be trained to investigate such cases, especially when the case is based on circumstantial, electronic and scientific evidence.
The court criticized RG Kar Medical College and the hospital, saying that they tried to declare the death of the victim as suicide so that the hospital could be saved from any responsibility. The judge said, “The hospital administration not only delayed the investigation but also prevented the victim’s parents from seeing their daughter. This was a dereliction of duty and an attempt to conceal facts.” The court clearly said that if the junior doctor had not protested, the case might not have gone ahead.
Although the judge said, “The crime was cruel and barbaric, this case does not fall into the category of ‘rarest of the rare’. The primary responsibility of the judiciary is to follow the law and ensure justice based on evidence and not merely influenced by public sentiments. We must rise above outdated ideas like ‘an eye for an eye’ and elevate humanity through wisdom, compassion and a deep understanding of justice.”
The judge also said in his decision that no punishment can reduce the immense grief and pain of the victim’s parents, but it is the duty of the judiciary to punish the culprits within the ambit of the law. During this time, the court had ordered to pay compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the victim’s family, but the family said that they do not want compensation but justice.
Victim’s father angry at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
After the decision of Sealdah Court, the victim father said“We will decide further after receiving the copy of the order. She (CM Mamata Banerjee) does not need to do anything in haste. Whatever the Chief Minister has done till date, he should not do anything further.” Saying that life imprisonment was given because the CBI could not provide proper evidence, the victim’s father said, “He can say a lot, but will not say it. The then CP and others tampered with the evidence, did they not see all this from the beginning?”
Serious questions were being raised on Bengal Police from the beginning
It is noteworthy that on the morning of August 9, 2024, the doctor was found in a mutilated condition at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She was unconscious at that time. He was immediately given treatment, but he died. The postmortem report revealed sexual assault and murder. “He was bleeding from both eyes and mouth, and had injuries on his face and nails,” the report said. The victim was also bleeding from her private parts. He also had injuries on his stomach, left leg…neck, right hand and…lips.” Although the police had earlier declared it a suicide, the condition of the semi-nude body was telling something else. After which the students created a ruckus and then the post-mortem of the student’s body was done.
In this case, the parents and family members of the victim had made serious allegations. He accused the Bengal Police of suppressing the case and not allowing his daughter to see him for 3 hours. Not only this, he had also accused the RG tax administration of suppressing the case. In this case, after the court’s order, CBI investigated, whereas, the police had caught Sanjay Roy and now the court has given him life imprisonment.
