An Indian court has found a man guilty of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor – a case that sparked outrage across the country.

Sanjay Roy, a hospital volunteer, was found guilty of the attack, which took place in August last year at a hospital in the city of Kolkata in West Bengal state.

The incident sparked panic across the country, leading to widespread protests and concerns about the safety of India’s health workers, especially women.

Judge Anirban Das said the sentence, which will be announced on Monday, will range from imprisonment to death. Roy has maintained his innocence and has previously claimed that he was framed.

The victim’s mother told AFP news agency that people would lose faith in India’s legal system if Roy was not given the death penalty.

The body of the 31-year-old doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found on August 9, 2024 at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

After a grueling 36-hour shift, he went to sleep in the hospital’s lecture hall. His naked body, badly injured, was later found near the podium by a friend.

A post-mortem examination found that the victim had been strangled to the neck and had injuries indicating a struggle.

According to a report by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seen by the BBC, Roy went to the hospital drunk and found the female doctor sleeping alone.

He was arrested a day after the crime.

The case was initially investigated by the Kolkata Police but later the court handed over the investigation to the CBI after the government officials accused them of wrongdoing.

For weeks after the incident, doctors and medical students across India staged protests and rallies demanding justice and better protection for doctors.

One such show, is “Bring Back the Night” on March, saw thousands of women marching on the streets at night in Kolkata and other cities on August 14, the eve of India’s Independence Day.

In December, the victim’s parents petitioned the Calcutta High Court for a retrial, expressing no faith in the CBI probe.

They said that Roy alone could not have committed the crime and said that they will be satisfied only when all those involved are tried. The high court has said it will review the decision only if the Supreme Court – which is overseeing the case – orders it to do so.

The incident raised concerns about the rise in violence against healthcare workers in India – many of whom are victimized by angry patients or their family members.

A 2017 study by the Indian Medical Association found that 75% of doctors in India have experienced some form of violence. The survey also revealed that about 63% of doctors are afraid of potential abuse while treating patients.

Meanwhile, sexual violence against women remains a widespread problem in India. More than 31,000 people were raped in India in 2022according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Many rape cases in India go unreported, largely because of the stigma attached to sexual violence and distrust of the police and courts. Abusers say that in many cases this causes the victim to feel shame rather than abuse, especially in rural areas.

In 2012, the rape and murder of a medical student by a group of men in Delhi, the capital of India, drew international attention and sparked similar protests.

Public outrage led authorities to amend rape laws in 2013. The amendment broadened the definition of the crime, imposed harsher penalties for rape and lowered the age of conviction from 18 to 16.

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