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SUB-HEADING: "RG Kar rape-murder accused convicted, father of doctor breaks down in court."
SUB-HEADING: "RG Kar case verdict: Accused Sanjay Roy has been found guilty by a Kolkata court over 160 days after a trainee doctor was found brutally raped and murdered in RG Kar Hospital premises.".
IN SHORT:
- Quantum of sentence to be announced on January 20
- Father of victim breaks down in court, thanks judge
- Trainee doctor was raped, murdered at RG Kar hospital on August 9'
"I have examined all the evidence and witnesses, also heard the arguments. After getting through all of these, I have found you guilty. You are guilty. You must be punished," the judge said. The court will announce the quantum of punishment on Monday.
During the hearing, Roy questioned why those "who framed him" were being released - being seen as a reference to the former SHO of the local police station, who, along with former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, were granted bail for allegedly altering evidence in the case.
"I always wear a rudraksha chain on my neck. If I committed the crime, my chain would have been broken at the place of occurrence. I didn't commit this, I was framed. Those who framed me, including one IPS officer, are being released. Why?" Roy said.
To this, the judge said that he would hear his arguments on Monday. "You will be heard on Monday. Now. I am sending you to judicial custody," the court said.
Roy was charged under Section 64 (rape), Section 66 (punishment for causing death), and Section 103 (murder). Section 64 carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, while under Section 66, one can be sentenced to death.
The father of the victim broke down inside the courtroom after hearing the verdict. "I kept full faith in you. Thanks to you for honouring our trust," he said.
RG KAR RAPE-MURDER CASE: A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
The body of the 31-year-old trainee doctor was found inside the seminar hall of the state-run hospital, with the postmortem report suggesting that she was throttled and smothered to death.
Amid relentless protests, the case was handed over to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court. The central agency, in its sole chargesheet, named Sanjay Roy as the "prime accused", ruling out the possibility of the victim being gang raped.
During the trial, Sanjay Roy, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed that he was being framed.
The incident prompted then RG Kar College principal Sandip Ghosh to resign as the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government came under immense criticism over the handling of the case.
The matter took a violent turn after a mob vandalised the hospital's emergency ward on August 15 during a 'Reclaim the Night' rally organised by women and activists.
EX-RG KAR PRINCIPAL ALSO ARRESTED
The CBI also arrested Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of the local police station for allegedly manipulating and altering evidence. Ghosh had allegedly ordered renovation work near the crime scene - a fact taken note of by the Calcutta High Court. The government, however, denied that the demolition was a bid to destroy evidence from the crime scene.
Both Ghosh and the former police official were released on "default bail" after the CBI failed to file a supplementary chargesheet within 90 days of their arrest. Ghosh, however, is lodged in jail in another case related to alleged financial irregularities at the medical college."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/accused-sanjay-ray-found-guilty-of-trainee-doctor-rape-murder-case-kolkata-rg-kar-hospital-2666674-2025-01-18
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
