In India, a volunteer police officer accused of rape and murder by a doctor sparked widespread protests

Volunteer police found guilty Rape and murder of a trainee doctor In India, crime It sparked protests and hospital strikes across the country last year.

Judge Anirban Das said the sentence against 33-year-old Sanjay Roy would be announced on Monday and could range from life imprisonment to death.

Protests erupted in West Bengal last August demanding justice after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found mutilated in the lecture hall of Kolkata’s state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Authorities said at the time that the woman had gone to the auditorium to rest for her night shift when she was attacked.

After the autopsy, the victim was raped and assaulted before her death. He also suggested that she resisted and that he may have tortured her before she was killed.

Roy was arrested a day after the crime, but it did not happen He was officially charged until about two months later. He told the court that he has since pleaded not guilty.

The trial in the case was fast-tracked in India’s notoriously slow legal system, and arguments began in November. It also highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the country.

After the incident, doctors and medical students across India staged protests and demonstrations demanding justice and better protection. Thousands of women across the country protested on the streets and demanded justice for the victim. Some protesters have called for the death penalty for the perpetrator.

The incident highlighted the ongoing gender-based violence against women in India and prompted India’s Supreme Court to set up a national task force to recommend ways to increase security measures in government hospitals.

Many cases of Crimes against women Due to the stigma surrounding sexual assault and lack of trust in the police, it goes unreported in India. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly pronounced in rural areas, where society sometimes shames victims of sexual violence and families worry about their social status.

Still, the number of rape cases registered in the country has increased. In the year In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape – a 20% jump from 2021; National Criminal Records Bureau.

In 2012 Gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student It sparked huge protests across India against the New Delhi bus. It has also prompted lawmakers to mandate stiffer penalties for such crimes, as well as the creation of fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government has also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.

In the year Revised rape laws in 2013 criminalized stalking and voyeurism, lowering the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16.