NEW DELHI: Prime accused Sanjay Roy on Monday maintained his innocence in the rape and murder case of a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Roy told the Sealdah court that he was being framed and has not committed any crime.
“I haven’t done this. I have been framed. Lots of things were destroyed, but if I had done it then my rudraksha mala would have broken. You decide whether I have been framed or not,” Roy said.
Before the sentencing, Roy’s lawyer argued against capital punishment and said that the prosecuter has to prove why Roy is “not worth reformation and should be completely eliminated from society”.
“The public prosecutor has to present evidence and give reasons why the person is not worth reformation and should be completely eliminated from society,” he added.
During the proceedings, the CBI lawyer pleaded for the highest penalty for the convict.
“We pray for the highest penalty to maintain people’s faith in society,” the agency’s counsel told the court.
This comes as a Kolkata court is set to pronounce quantum of punishment for the civic volunteer after he was found guilty by additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das on Saturday.
The rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate medical trainee, whose body was found in a hospital seminar room on August 9 sparked nationwide protests demanding justice for the victim and a safer environment for the medics.
Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer with Kolkata Police, was arrested the following day in connection with the crime. Roy was convicted under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rape, along with Sections 66 and 103(1) for causing death and committing murder. Notably, Section 103(1) of the BNS prescribes a maximum penalty of either life imprisonment or the death sentence.
The incident sparked nationwide outrage, prompting the high court to hand over the investigation to the CBI, which later submitted its chargesheet to the sessions court.
The case also reached the Supreme Court, which took suo motu cognizance to establish guidelines for doctors’ workplace safety and oversee the investigation’s progress.
