NewDelhi: Sanjay Roy has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a horrific case that has stirred national attention. The Siadhal Court ruled Monday after the trial, which brought out some of the shocking details of the crime.
The young doctor was allegedly found dead in a seminar room at the hospital on August 9, 2023. The case caused massive outrage, the kind that only sees people clogging up the streets calling for justice for the victim across the country. Roy has been charged with committing the heinous act after luring the doctor into a vulnerable situation and then proceeding to kill him during court proceedings, it was disclosed.
After the verdict, Malti, Roy’s mother, said she felt deep shame about her son’s actions. A mother of three daughters, she told reporters earlier in the day that she understood the pain of the victim’s parents. She said she would be supportive of any sentence her son received, and if the court was to determine capital punishment, she wouldn’t object.
At sentencing, though, Malti shut herself in her home and refused to answer journalists’ questions. She yelled that she had nothing left to say, and she said she was deeply ashamed of herself.
Roy’s mother was among those conspicuously absent from the court proceedings. He also has had many personal tragedies, including watching one of his three sisters pass away several years ago. And one surviving sister raised questions and asked whether Sanjay was alone while reports suggest he was not and called for further investigation into any potential accomplices.
Sanjay Roy is ‘a gentle family man,’ said another neighbour, and while they don’t want to believe he could have committed such a crime alone, neighbours haven’t noticed anything strange. Another neighbour, Urmila Mahato, said he had watched him grow up and that he drank after joining a boxing club. It was hard for her to accept that he could possibly be guilty of it (such a horrific act).
But as this case plays out, many questions remain about where such violence could occur in a life-affirming institution that’s supposed to care. The victim’s family has called for a thorough investigation into all parts of the case and the holding to account of anyone else who may have been involved.