After the verdict was delivered on Monday, Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress, voiced her discontent. She blamed the Kolkata Police for not securing a death penalty for Roy, stating that if the investigation had stayed with the local police, they would have ensured a death sentence. However, the case was taken away from the Kolkata Police and transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her disappointment over the court’s decision not to give the death penalty to Sanjay Roy, the man convicted of raping and murdering a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Instead, Roy was sentenced to life imprisonment until death. Banerjee has announced that her government will now approach the High Court to seek a harsher punishment.
Mamata Banerjee’s Statement on the Verdict
After the verdict was handed down on Monday, Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress, voiced her discontent. She blamed the Kolkata Police for not securing a death penalty for Roy, stating that if the investigation had stayed with the local police, they would have ensured a death sentence. However, the case was taken away from the Kolkata Police and transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Banerjee said, “We demanded death penalty from Day 1. We demand it now too. But it’s the court’s order. I can share my party’s opinion… we ensured death penalty in three cases within 60 days. If the case stayed with us, we would have ensured death penalty long back. I am not satisfied… Had it been the death penalty, at least my heart would have been somewhat at peace.”
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Shock Over Court’s Ruling
Expressing her shock on social media, Banerjee criticized the court’s decision, which did not consider the crime as part of the “rarest of rare” category, a classification for crimes that justify the death penalty.
She wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I am convinced that it is indeed a rarest of rare case which demands capital punishment. How could the judgement come to the conclusion that it is not a rarest of rare case?! We want and insist upon death penalty in this most sinister and sensitive case.”
“I strongly feel that it is a heinous crime that warrants capital punishment. We will plead for capital punishment of the convict at the High Court now,” she added, emphasizing her frustration with the verdict.
Judge’s Ruling and CBI’s Request for Death Penalty
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Anirban Das, who delivered the verdict, explained that the CBI had requested the death penalty for Roy, while the defense lawyer argued for a jail sentence instead.
However, Judge Das concluded, “This crime does not fall under the rarest of the rare category. I am sentencing you (Roy) to life imprisonment, meaning till the last day of your life, for causing injury during the act of committing rape on the victim that led to her death.”
Parents and Doctors Express Disappointment
The victim’s parents, who have been vocal in seeking justice for their daughter, expressed shock and disappointment over the decision.
The mother of the victim said, “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.”
Doctors who had protested for justice, demanding better security at hospitals, also expressed their discontent.
The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) India, one of the leading organizations that had been at the forefront of the protests, wrote on X, “You can get away with a brutal #Rape &Murder with just #Lifeimprisonment in India. What a shame! Highly disappointed. This is not over, yet.”