The trial for the rape and murder of a junior doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal is set to begin on Monday at a special court. The accused, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, was formally charged on November 4, allowing for the commencement of the trial process, which will be conducted on a fast-track, daily basis.
The incident in September when the body of the doctor was found in a seminar hall at the college on August 9. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its first charge sheet 35 days before the trial, naming Roy as the “sole prime accused.”
Efforts to shift the trial outside West Bengal were recently rejected by the Supreme Court, with outgoing Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, dismissing a verbal appeal for relocation. Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, also called for the trial’s transfer, citing concerns over potential bias under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government.
Roy has denied the charges, alleging he is being falsely implicated and claimed that Kolkata Police colleagues, where he served as a civic volunteer, threatened him to stay silent. The outcome of the trial is being closely watched, with justice and state politics intertwined in public discourse.