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An Indian court has sentenced a man to life in prison for the rape and murder of a young doctor, in a case that sparked outrage and protests across the nation.
The judge rejected pleas for the death penalty, but said Sanjoy Roy was a volunteer at the hospital. condemned over the weekend, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Roy has pleaded not guilty and is expected to appeal the verdict to a higher court.
The victim’s family said they wanted him hanged, and were “shocked” by the sentence.
“We will continue our fight, and we will not let the investigations stop… Come, we will fight for justice,” the woman’s father told the AFP agency.
Indian law prohibits revealing the identity of victims of sexual violence and their family members.
The killing of the trainee doctor, where he worked at the hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, sent shock waves across the country last August.
The 31-year-old went to sleep in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital after a night shift. His half-naked and seriously injured body was found next to a podium by a colleague.
The crime sparked widespread protests and concerns about the safety of India’s health workers, especially women.
According to the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seen by the BBC, Roy went to the hospital drunk and found the female doctor alone asleep.
The autopsy report stated that the woman had been strangled and had injury marks that showed she had resisted.
Roy was arrested the day after the crime and has consistently denied the charges.
In Kolkata, doctors went on strike for weeks, demanding action against the accused and officials they said were complicit in delaying or derailing investigations.
