A volunteer police officer was found guilty of the crime rape and murder of an intern doctor in India it is a crime that caused mass protests and hospital strikes last year.
Judge Anirban Das said Sanjay Roy, 33, would be sentenced on Monday and could range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
In August last year, West Bengal erupted in protests demanding justice after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found with multiple injuries in a lecture hall at Kolkata's RG Kar Government Medical College and Hospital. At the time, authorities said the woman had gone to a lecture hall to rest during her night shift when she was attacked.
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An autopsy later revealed that the victim had been raped and beaten before her death. It also suggested that she resisted and may have been tortured before being killed.
Roy was arrested a day after the crime, but was not Officially charged almost two months later. Since then, he has consistently maintained his innocence and told the court that he is not guilty.
The trial in the case was fast-tracked through India's notoriously sluggish judicial system, and arguments began in November. It also highlighted once again the chronic problem of violence against women in the country.
After the incident, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding justice and better security for them. Thousands of women across the country also protested in the streets, demanding justice for the victims, taking part in the Take Back the Night marches. Some protesters called for the death penalty for the perpetrator of the crime.
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The incident highlighted the rise of sexual violence against women in India and prompted India's Supreme Court to set up a national task force to suggest ways to improve security measures in public hospitals.
Many cases crimes against women remain unreported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual assault and a lack of faith in the police. Women's rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where society sometimes shames victims of sexual violence and families worry about their social status.
Nevertheless, the number of recorded cases of rape in the country has increased. In 2022, the police recorded 31,516 reports of rape, a 20% increase from 2021. National Crime Bureau.
In 2012 Art gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus sparked mass protests across India. This has inspired lawmakers to introduce tougher penalties for such crimes, as well as create fast-track rape courts. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.
The Rape Act, introduced in 2013, also criminalises stalking and voyeurism and lowers the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.