An Indian man on trial for the rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty, his lawyer said on Saturday.
The crime, which shocked the nation and triggered widespread protests, involved the discovery of the doctor’s bloodied body at a government hospital in Kolkata on August 9.
The brutal murder sparked national outrage over the ongoing issue of violence against women. Sanjoy Roy, 33, the sole accused in the case, made his plea before a judge in a closed court session on Friday in Kolkata. His lawyer, Sourav Bandyopadhyay, relayed Roy’s statement: “I am not guilty, your honour, I have been framed.”
Roy, a civic volunteer at the hospital, was arrested the day after the murder and has been in custody since. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The court hearings, which began on November 11, have included testimony from over 50 witnesses. On Friday, Roy took the stand, where Judge Anirban Das questioned him for more than six hours, asking over 100 questions during his in-camera deposition, according to Bandyopadhyay.
Roy had previously declared his innocence in public, shouting from a prison van outside the court before a November hearing.
In response to the horrific crime, doctors in Kolkata went on strike for weeks, and tens of thousands of ordinary citizens participated in protests, demanding greater protection for female doctors. The protests also drew attention to the lack of safety measures for women in the workplace.
India’s Supreme Court has ordered the formation of a national task force to assess how to enhance security for healthcare workers, calling the murder “a brutal crime” that has “shocked the conscience of the nation.”
The attack has drawn comparisons to the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked nationwide protests.
The trial is ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for January 2, 2025.
