Kolkata:

The mother of Sanjay Roy, who was convicted for the rape and murder of the medic of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, on Sunday said if her son is guilty then he should get the punishment he deserves, even if it means hanging.

She said she will “cry alone” but will accept his punishment as destiny.

Initially reticent to speak to the media after the Sealdah court convicted Sanjay on January 18, Malati Roy the mother of Sanjay told reporters on Sunday morning that being a woman, and a mother of three daughters, “I can feel the anguish and pain of the mother of the woman medic who is like my daughter.”

“If the court decides to hang him to death, I don’t have any objection as his crime has been proved in the eye of the law, I will cry alone but accept it as a quirk of fate, something willed by destiny,” the 70-year-old-woman said standing on the doorstep of her shanty on Shambhunath Pandit Street, about 5 km away from the commotion and buzz at Sealdah Court the other day.

Asked if she had turned up during any of the court hearings or met Roy at the lockup, she replied “No. Why should I? Despite my failing health I would have tried to visit if the charges were found to be untrue.” Sanjay has three sisters and one of them died years back.

One of the elder sisters, who lives close to Malati’s home, at her in-law’s place, on Saturday said in case he is proven guilty, the law should take its own course punishing him and the family has no plan to challenge the order on its own in any court.

The middle-aged woman, her face partially covered in dupatta, told reporters at a shanty in the Bhawanipore area that she had not visited the Sealdah Court room where her brother was produced and the court pronounced him guilty.

“Please leave me alone. We are shattered,” she said when reporters continued to ask if she thought her brother was really guilty.

“But if he has committed any crime, he should get proper punishment. We don’t have any plan to challenge the order on our part. I am living in my in-laws house. I don’t have any contact with my family since my marriage in 2007 while my mother is not well,” she said.

The woman, who did not wish to divulge her identity or name, said her brother used to be like any normal boy during his childhood days.

“As he grew up, he turned to booze but apart from that I myself did not ever hear any case about Sanjay misbehaving with any woman. Of course as we did not have regular contact with him in the past few years and he used to live in a separate locality I don’t have any fair idea about his associations and whether he was involved in any criminal offence,” she said.

The woman, however, added “There are reports in media that Sanjay was not alone at the site of crime. So I would expect that investigations must have been thorough to find only one person’s involvement in such a crime. Had others been involved directly or indirectly that should also be investigated and they should be brought to book.” “Since Sanjay’s arrest, we were under the stigma and everyone from neighbours to relatives would point fingers at us saying we are Sanjay’s family. I hope we are clearing the air now,” the elder sister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The father of the victim in the Kolkata rape and murder case broke down in court today after Sanjay Roy, the prime accused, was found guilty of the crime, more than five months after the incident sent shockwaves across the country.

Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, was found guilty under Sections 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that governs rape, and Sections 66 and 103 (1) of the Act, which deal with punishments for death and murder.

The semi-naked body of the on-duty 31-year-old doctor was found on the third floor of the seminar hall of the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 last year. Roy was arrested the next day.

When Anirban Das, the additional district and sessions judge of the Sealdah court, delivered the verdict, the victim’s father told him that he had “honoured the faith” he had in him.

The sentencing will take place on Monday.

During the hearing, Roy said he was being “framed”.

“I haven’t done this. Why are those who did it being allowed to go?,” the 33-year-old said, to which the judge said he would be given an opportunity to speak on Monday.

Sanjay Roy, currently held at Kolkata’s Presidency Jail, has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming he is being framed.

While investigators have alleged that he acted alone, the victim’s family have claimed that other persons were involved in the crime. They have also filed an application before the court seeking further investigation into the case.

The Kolkata Police, which was investigating the case initially, arrested Roy on August 10. The Calcutta High Court later transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Roy’s in-camera trial commenced on November 12 and concluded on January 9, during which 50 witnesses were examined.