A police volunteer in India has been convicted of the rape and murder of a doctor, sparking widespread protests

A police volunteer is found guilty of a crime Rape and murder of a trainee doctor In India, it is a crime It sparked nationwide protests and hospital strikes last year.

Judge Anirban Das said the sentence for 33-year-old Sanjay Roy would be announced on Monday and could range from life imprisonment to the death penalty.

Protests erupted in West Bengal last August demanding justice after the body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor was found with multiple injuries in an auditorium at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Authorities said at the time that the woman had gone to the lecture hall to rest during a night shift when she was attacked.

An autopsy later showed that the victim had been raped and assaulted before her death. It also indicates that she resisted and may have been tortured before she was killed.

Roy was arrested a day after the crime but was not arrested He was not formally charged until nearly two months later. Since then, he has consistently maintained his innocence and told the court that he is not guilty.

The trial in this case was expedited due to India’s slow legal system, and arguments began in November. It also once again highlighted the chronic issue of violence against women in the country.

After the incident, doctors and medical students across India organized protests and marches to demand justice and better security for them. Thousands of women across the country also protested in the streets, demanding justice for the victim as they participated in “Reclaim the Night” marches. Some demonstrators demanded the death penalty for the perpetrator.

The incident highlighted the rise in sexual violence against women in India and prompted the Supreme Court of India to form a national task force proposing ways to strengthen safety measures in government hospitals.

Many cases Crimes against women It goes unreported in India due to the stigma surrounding sexual violence, as well as a lack of trust in the police. Women’s rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where victims of sexual assault are sometimes shamed by society and families worry about their social standing.

However, the number of recorded rape cases in the country has increased. In 2022, police registered 31,516 reports of rape, an increase of 20% from 2021, according to an Amnesty International report. National Crime Records Bureau.

In 2012, Gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student On a bus in New Delhi, sparking mass protests across India. It inspired lawmakers to issue harsher penalties for such crimes, as well as to establish dedicated fast-track courts for rape cases. The government also imposed the death penalty on repeat offenders.

The rape law amended in 2013 also criminalizes stalking and voyeurism, and lowers the age at which a person can be tried as an adult from 18 to 16 years.