West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed her dismay over the Sealdah court's verdict sentencing Sanjay Roy, the sole convict in the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, to life imprisonment till death.
The Sealdah court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment till death for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, rejecting calls for the death penalty on the grounds that the crime did not fall under the "rarest of the rare" category.
At a public meeting in Malda, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her frustration, stating, "I have been seeking capital punishment for the accused in the RG Kar death incident. If someone is so demonic and barbaric, how can society remain humane? We have passed the Aparajita Bill, but the Centre is sitting on it."
Banerjee said, "If someone is given life imprisonment, then the person can get freed on parole. I was once a lawyer and fought several cases. The Sealdah court judge said that it was not the rarest of rare cases and could not award capital punishment. If this is not rarest of rare case then what is it".
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court granted permission to the West Bengal government to appeal the Sealdah court's decision, which sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death in the rape and murder case of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.