Kolkata doctor’s rape, murder: CBI moves High Court seeking death sentence for convict

The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved the Calcutta High Court, seeking a death sentence for Sanjoy Roy, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.

The agency described it as “rarest of the rare” case, the newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying.

The Sealdah Civil and Criminal Court in the city had on Saturday found Roy guilty of the crime. On Monday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Das refused to grant the death penalty to Roy, sought by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The court said that the crime did not meet the “rarest of rare” criteria for capital punishment.

The “rarest of rare” doctrine is used in India to decide when to impose the death penalty in cases that are particularly brutal, heinous or depraved. The doctrine is often applied in cases of murder, rape and other serious crimes.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s decision to challenge the trial court’s sentence came hours after it opposed a plea filed by the West Bengal government in the High Court on Tuesday seeking the death penalty for Roy, The Indian Express reported.

The central agency had argued that only the victim’s family, the investigating authority or the…

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