A day after a sessions court in Kolkata sentenced the convict to life term in the rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has moved the Calcutta High Court to file an appeal seeking death penalty for the convict.
Banerjee expressed her disapproval of the sentences saying “What is the meaning of a life sentence? In many cases, culprits are released on parole even after committing heinous crimes”. She stated that she did not judge commenting “it is not the rarest of rare cases.” However, Banerjee claimed that the case fits into the category of “rarest of rare crime” and if the convict is not punished, they might again commit a misdeed.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah Anirban Das had spared the hangman’s noose for the convict Sanjay Roy saying we must rise above primitive instincts. Banerjee pointed out that her government has passed The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 which calls for death penalty in such cases.
The West Bengal government has been pushing for capital punishment in similar crimes since the R G Kar rape and murder case came to light. In at least three cases involving rape and murder of minors, courts in West Bengal have awarded capital punishment to convicts.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/bengal-government-moves-calcutta-high-court-seeking-death-penalty-for-rg-kar-convict/article69124384.ece