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.

A court in India's Kolkata has sentenced the man convicted of raping and murdering a junior doctor to life imprisonment. The Indian court's judgement came as a disappointment to the victim's parents.

The BJP criticized the life sentence for Sanjoy Roy in the R G Kar rape-murder case, calling it a travesty of justice. They argue for an appeal and investigation into the role of Kolkata officials, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,

The BJP on Monday criticised the sentence of life imprisonment for the convict in the RG Kar rape-murder case by a Kolkata court as a "travesty of justice", and said justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done.

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

An Indian police volunteer was convicted on Saturday (January 18) of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city Kolkata, in the speedy trial of a crime that sparked national outrage over a lack of safety for women.

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