Multiple allegations and theories surfaced after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug 9 last year. Judge Anirban Das of Sealdah sessions court addressed these theories in a 172-page judgment, providing reasons to debunk each one while sentencing convict Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment Monday.
Victim was gang-raped: Judge Das ruled out this possibility. “Rape was committed by only one person, and there was no evidence of gang rape,” the judgment reads.
The autopsy report supported this, showing no fractures on the victim’s body, indicating that the assault was carried out by a single person, the judge said. The court acknowledged the prosecution’s failure to specify the nature of a white thick liquid found during the examination, but it was confirmed that it was not semen.
A woman was hiding behind curtains: The victim’s parents had argued that another woman was involved, citing DNA profiles found during autopsy. However, Judge Das pointed out the poor sterilisation practices at the facility, which led to contamination. Other female bodies were lying on the floor.
“The nipple swab contains the full DNA profile of the accused as well as of the victim and a very negligible profile of another female,” he said, ruling out the involvement of any other person.
Impossible for Roy to act alone: The court found that the cause of death was due to manual strangulation associated with smothering, both of which Roy could have carried out alone. The autopsy team confirmed the manner of death was homicidal and caused by these actions.
No signs of struggle in seminar hall: While some items were undisturbed, such as the victim’s mobile phone, laptop, and exercise book, Judge Das highlighted other evidence indicating a struggle. “The water bottle was found lying on the dais, and a red blanket was used as a pillow,” he said. “I have no confusion in my mind to hold that the seminar room, more particularly the dais, again more precisely the mattress on the dais… was the scene of the crime.”
No one noticed anything amiss at nursing station: The defence questioned why the nursing station did not notice Roy entering the chest department. Judge Das dismissed this as speculative, saying: “In the wee hours of Aug 9, it was not the time of joining any duties. It is very hard to take into consideration such an imaginary argument.”
Roy was tortured into confession: The court found no evidence to support the claim that Roy was tortured into confessing. “It was not placed anywhere during the cross-examination that the accused was beaten while in police custody,” Judge Das wrote in his verdict, adding that no such allegations were presented during the investigation process.