The Sealdah court is expected to announce the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case verdict on Saturday. The CBI and the parents of the victim have demanded the maximum punishment for the accused.
People are anxiously waiting for the verdict in the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case in Kolkata, which shook the nation and the medical fraternity of the country. Ahead of the verdict tomorrow (January 18), the father of the victim said he was ready to wait five years more for justice and vowed to fight on.
The gruesome rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor ‘Abhaya’ at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital on August 9, 2024, sparked widespread protests across the nation, with doctors going on hunger strikes and demanding better security at their workspaces. The CBI took charge of the case and arrested Sanjay Roy, but a final verdict is expected from the Sealdah court on Saturday.
Junior doctors agitating since August have demanded the maximum punishment for Roy. While former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and police officer Abhijit Mondal were initially arrested amid allegations of a larger conspiracy, they got bail as the CBI could not give a charge sheet on them.
“Sanjay Roy is a criminal. He will be punished, and whatever the court feels, that punishment will be given to him. We have gone to the High Court and Supreme Court for justice,” the victim’s father told The Indian Express, asserting that he is ready to wait for five years more, but “will not beg”.
He also said he would “snatch” justice if necessary. “or five months, there has been no proper investigation. The investigation was only for the first three days and then nothing happened. We had never asked for a CBI investigation, but the court had ordered a CBI probe,” he said.
Sanjay Roy, who was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was charged with committing the crime and was arrested on August 10. The victim’s mother said there was enough evidence to prove Roy guilty, but claimed the investigation was half-done as other suspects allegedly involved were roaming freely.
“Sanjay (Roy) is guilty, and tomorrow’s verdict will be against him. But what about other criminals who are still not caught? I can see them roaming freely. I have seen them loitering in the hospital. So, the investigation is half-done,” she told news agency PTI.
All eyes are on the Sealdah court, where the additional district and sessions judge will announce a verdict in the rape and murder case. In its conclusion on January 9, the CBI sought death for the accused.
Meanwhile, TMC spokesperson Joy Prakash Majumdar told The Indian Express that the “whole matter” has “vindicated the stand” of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the “action of state police.”
“We have seen several courses of public agitation that demanded a CBI probe. In the end, we see they are saying they have no faith in the CBI, and now the parents of the deceased doctor are saying that the CBI did not conduct the investigation properly. It shows that the protest had two main agendas: one asking for the highest punishment that was supported by Mamata Banerjee and the state government, but the second was politically motivated and that has been proved now,” he said.