'If the case stayed with us...': Mamata Banerjee reacts to RG Kar case verdict

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Kolkata Police would have ensured death penalty for the convict in RG Kar rape and murder case, but the probe was taken away and handed over to the CBI, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today, minutes after a city court sentenced Roy to life imprisonment.


"We demanded death penalty from Day 1. We demand it now too. But it's the court's order. I can share my party's opinion. We ensured death penalty in three cases within 60 days. If the case stayed with us, we would have ensured death penalty long back. I don't know the details."


"The case was taken away from us. We had said that if we cannot do it, then hand it over to CBI. Because we want justice," she said, adding that she was "not satisfied".


The Trinamool Congress government had come under heavy criticism after a 34-year-old doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9 in a seminar hall at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Amid allegations of a hush-up involving top state government officials, the Supreme Court had ordered the CBI to take over the investigation into the case that sparked nationwide protests.


Five months on, a Kolkata court today sentenced Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, to life imprisonment and noted that the prosecution had failed to establish that the case fell in the 'rarest of the rare' category to warrant a death penalty.


The court also ordered the State to provide a sum of Rs 17 lakh as financial assistance to the doctor's elderly parents. The couple, however, said they do not want compensation but justice. The judge, however, said they are entitled to the assistance as per law and urged them not to see it as compensation.


The victim's parents and doctors still protesting against the incident believe that the crime was not committed by Roy alone.


Doctors in Kolkata have been protesting against an alleged cover-up by the state government to shield people close to the ruling party. Ms Banerjee has trashed such allegations and had, in fact, led a protest march to demand justice for the victim.