Eighty-seven days after the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, a city court on Monday filed charges against the main accused, Sanjay Roy, who continues to claim that he is being framed. The Sealdah Court in West Bengal charged Roy under sections 103(1), 64, and 66 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. The court also announced that the trial would proceed on a day-to-day basis starting November 11. Roy faces charges under Section 64 of the BNS, Section 66 (which pertains to punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state), and Section 103 (punishment for murder).
As he was escorted out of court, Sanjay Roy told reporters, “I have done nothing. I have been framed in this rape-murder case. Nobody is listening to me. The government is framing me and threatening me not to open my mouth.”
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) named Roy as the "sole prime accused" in its initial charge-sheet submitted last month, also hinting at a "bigger conspiracy" behind the crime. The 31-year-old junior doctor's body was found on August 9 in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, with an autopsy confirming that she had been brutally raped and murdered. The case has triggered nationwide outrage.
Doctors across West Bengal went on a ‘cease-work’ strike for several weeks, demanding justice for the victim and urging the state government to implement stricter security measures in hospitals to protect healthcare workers. The victim’s parents have also accused the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of delaying justice, alleging a larger conspiracy and cover-up.
