In a case that has ignited outrage across the nation regarding violence against women, Sanjay Roy has officially been charged with the rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata. This high-profile incident has captured significant media attention, beginning on August 9 with the grim discovery of the doctor’s bloodied body in a hospital room after she completed a grueling 36-hour shift.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced the charges against Roy following his arrest the day after the murder. According to the CBI’s charge sheet, Roy, who was volunteering at the hospital, is alleged to have assaulted and killed the doctor while she was asleep. The investigation suggests that Roy acted alone, with the possibility of a death sentence looming over him.
Evidence gathered by the CBI, including interviews and CCTV footage, places Roy at the scene. The footage supposedly captures him entering a seminar room around 4:30 AM and leaving about 30 minutes later. The victim was discovered hours later by a junior doctor, and an autopsy revealed she had suffered approximately 25 injuries, leading to her death by strangulation.
The brutal nature of this case has shocked the nation, with the Supreme Court stating it has “shocked the conscience of the nation.” Furthermore, allegations have emerged that senior hospital staff attempted a cover-up. The former head of the hospital, Sandip Ghosh, faces accusations of delaying the victim’s family from seeing her body and initially misleading them into believing she had taken her own life. He has since been arrested for tampering with evidence.
Reports indicate the hospital took 14 hours to file an official report with the police. The victim’s parents allege that police attempted to suppress the truth and even bribed them to keep silent. This harrowing mixture of violence and alleged cover-up has sparked widespread protests across India, as well as a strike by junior doctors in Kolkata demanding better safety measures in hospitals and justice for their colleague.
The protests have persisted for weeks against the West Bengal government, with demonstrators vowing they would not return to work until their demands were met. After negotiations with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who agreed to most of the demands, the strike was temporarily lifted. However, it resumed shortly after due to dissatisfaction with the negotiations.
Currently, six junior doctors are on a hunger strike in Kolkata, calling for the removal of the state health secretary and accountability for the alleged corruption and cover-up related to this case.
This tragic incident has reignited a broader conversation about women’s safety in India, an ongoing concern despite previous high-profile cases that prompted calls for reform. The brutal 2012 case of a young woman who was gang-raped and murdered on a bus serves as a painful reminder. Other violent incidents, including the 2019 rape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad and the recent gang rape of a Spanish tourist, continue to fuel outrage and protests.
Activists argue that despite the introduction of new laws and stricter penalties, the underlying causes of sexual violence remain unaddressed. Government statistics reveal a troubling trend, with 2022 recording nearly 450,000 crimes against women—a 4% increase from the previous year—with over 7% of those being related to rape. Experts caution that due to the pervasive stigma and shame surrounding sexual assault, the actual numbers are likely much higher.
