Man sentenced to life over Indian doctor's rape, murder

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - A court in eastern India on Monday awarded a life sentence to a man for the rape and murder of a junior doctor that had triggered massive protests by doctors across the country last year.

A court in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment after he was convicted of rape and murder of a doctor in August last year at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.

The court has also directed the government to pay compensation to the victim’s family.

Following Monday’s judgment, some of the doctors said they would move to higher courts and seek a stricter judgment.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee, the state’s chief minister, said: “We have been demanding the death sentence to the convict since day one and we are still demanding the same.”

Health services in India were disrupted due to massive protests by doctors across the country over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor.

Her body was found inside the hospital on Aug. 9 last year and an autopsy showed she suffered sexual assault before being killed.

Subsequently, India's top court had constituted a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the security of doctors.