An Indian court awarded a life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the hospital where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty and saying it was not a rare crime.

Man sentenced to life for rape and murder of Kolkata doctor that sparked nationwide protests - Sanjay Roy, 33, plans to appeal the judgment in a higher court

KOLKATA: The rapist and murderer of an Indian doctor was sentenced to life in prison on Monday (Jan 20) for a gruesome crime that sparked nationwide protests and widespread hospital strikes last year.

Kolkata rape and murder case 1990: Almost two decades ago, Dhananjoy Chatterjee hit the headlines after a court convicted him for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl on March 5, 1990. After 14 years of the heinous crime, Chatterjee was executed in Kolkata on August 14, 2004.

Sanjay Roy, a police volunteer, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor attacked while on duty in Kolkata — a crime that sparked widespread protests across India.

An Indian court has sentenced a police volunteer to life in prison after finding him guilty in the rape and killing of a trainee doctor last year

The police had sought the death penalty in a horrific but familiar crime. Its handling by the local authorities had outraged the nation.