The bloody body of a female doctor was found in a classroom at a government college and hospital in Kolkata last August.

A volunteer police officer has been found guilty of raping and murdering a doctor in training at a hospital in India that sparked protests across the country last year.

The Civil and Criminal Court in Sealdah found 33-year-old Sanjay Roy guilty of the crime rape and the murder of a female student, whose bloody body was found in a classroom at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last August, as the case highlights the country’s struggle with sexual violence against women.

Judge Anirban Das, who presided over the fast-track trial, said the defendant, who has pleaded not guilty in court and insists he was framed, could face life in prison or the death penalty when he is sentenced on Monday.

“Your guilt has been proven. You are under sentence,” the judge announced, saying that the charges had been proven by inconclusive evidence.

Roy’s lawyers, who have yet to comment on the verdict, say there were significant discrepancies in the investigation and legal reports in the trial, which began on November 11 and saw 51 witnesses being examined.

The parents of the 31-year-old, who cannot be named under Indian law, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation, saying the crime was not committed by just one person.

“Our daughter would not have faced such a terrible destruction with an unmarried man,” her father said. “We will remain in pain and suffering until all the guilty are punished.” My daughter’s life will not be at peace until she receives justice.

Seeking justice

More than 200 armed police have been deployed pending a verdict.

As Roy was brought to court in a police van, protesters chanted: “Hang him, hang him.

A number of doctors spoke in sympathy with the victim.

Dr Aniket Mahato, a spokesperson for the junior doctors, said the street protests would continue “until justice is done”.

The horrific incident sparked weeks of international protests, drawing comparisons to the 2012 gang-rape and killing of a young woman on a bus in the capital, New Delhi. This led to the need for doctors in public hospitals to increase security.

India’s Supreme Court has set up a task force in the country after the protests that suggested ways to improve security in government hospitals.

The Indian police, who investigated the case, also was called the police officer in charge of the local police station during the crime and the head of the hospital during the crime scene and tampering with evidence.

The police officer is out on bail while the former director of the hospital is being held in connection with another case related to the hospital’s financial crisis.