RG Kar case TIMELINE: From Kolkata doctor's rape & murder to Sanjay Roy's life imprisonment verdict
It was a crime that shook the nation to its core. On an August morning, the body of a 31-year-old junior doctor was found in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Here's a detailed timeline of the key events that shaped this harrowing investigation.
FollowIt was a crime that shook the nation to its core. On an August morning, the body of a 31-year-old junior doctor was found in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
Five months later, today, a court in Sealdah, Kolkata, delivered its judgment and sentenced Sanjay Roy, the convict in the rape-murder case of the doctor, to life imprisonment and noted that the case was not in the 'rarest of the rare' category for a death penalty.
Here's a detailed timeline of the key events that shaped this harrowing investigation.
RG Kar doctor rape & murder: A timeline of events in case that shook the nation
August 9, 2024: The body of the 31-year-old junior doctor was found in the seminar hall on the fourth floor of the hospital. Her body had 16 external and nine internal injuries. The postmortem would later confirm death by manual strangulation following sexual assault. The accused, a 28-year-old traffic police volunteer named Sanjay Roy, was arrested the next day, August 10, 2024.
August 12, 2024: Just two days after the body was discovered, the West Bengal government transferred the hospital’s Superintendent. But this administrative shuffle was far from enough to quell the growing outcry. The hospital’s principal, Sandip Ghosh, stepped down on August 12, following nationwide protests led by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), which brought elective medical services to a grinding halt.
August 13: The victim’s parents, along with others, filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court. They demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing distrust in the Kolkata Police. The High Court agreed, handing over the case to the CBI.
August 14: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) intervened, noting visible signs of struggle on the victim’s body. The Kolkata Police formally handed Sanjay Roy over to the CBI.
August 15: The nation celebrated its Independence Day, another form of protest emerged: ‘Reclaim the Night’ rallies, organized by women and activists, demanding justice and protection for women.
At RG Kar Medical College, however, the protests turned violent. A mob vandalized the hospital and crime scene. Tensions flared further when the National Commission for Women (NCW) accused the authorities of security lapses and raised alarms that the crime site had undergone premature renovations.
August 17: The IMA announced a 24-hour nationwide strike in solidarity with the victim.
August 20: The Supreme Court itself weighed in, constituting a 10-member task force to address the safety of healthcare professionals. By the end of the month, the protests had spiralled into larger political movements. The Nabanna Abhijan march to the West Bengal secretariat turned into clashes between police and protestors, leading to a state-wide strike, called by the BJP on August 28.
September: The agency arrested Ghosh, accusing him of tampering with evidence. The officer-in-charge of the local Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, was also detained for delaying the filing of the FIR.
November: The court formally charged Sanjay Roy only in November. Roy faced charges under India’s Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including rape and murder.
December: The court granted bail to both Sandip Ghosh and Abhijit Mondal after the CBI failed to file its chargesheets within the statutory 90-day period.
January 18, 2025: A Sealdah court in Kolkata found Sanjoy Roy, a civic police volunteer, guilty in the gruesome rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar hospital. Sanjay Roy was convicted under sections 64, 66 and 103 (1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
At the hearing, accused Roy claimed his innocence and stated that he was not involved in the incident. However, court held Roy guilty of rape and murder of the trainee doctor. The court relied on forensic reports which pointed to the involvement of Roy in the incident, placing his DNA at the scene and on the person of the deceased doctor.
January 20: The court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment and noted that the case was not in the 'rarest of the rare' category for a death penalty.
Justice Anirban Das also directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the victim's parents. The victim's parents, who were in the courtroom, said they do not want compensation, but justice. The judge replied that he has ordered the compensation as per law and they are free to use the money however they want.
As soon as the quantum of punishment was announced, junior doctors held protest outside Sealdah Court demanding more strict punishment for the convict in RG Kar rape and murder case.
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