The Sealdah court was packed. But not its surroundings.
Police would not allow anyone to come anywhere near.
The court premises that buzz with people through the week looked like a fortress — three layers of barricades, police in uniform and plainclothes and personnel who asked anyone loitering there for a while why they were in the area.
On other days of the trial in the rape-and-murder case, the proceedings were held in-camera. On Saturday, the verdict was pronounced in open court.
“So, security had to be tightened for the safety of the accused. Security was a larger concern today,” said a police officer.
One reason behind the heightened security was to keep the media at a distance from Sanjay Roy when he was brought to the court premises.
During a hearing earlier, Roy told reporters who went close to his prison van that former police commissioner Vineet Goyal had framed him.
“A basic gap was maintained on Saturday,” the police officer said.
The apprehension of gatherings by various political and apolitical groups who might have turned up for unscheduled protests also kept the police on their toes.
An area of about 100 metres of the thoroughfare outside the court premises was closed to traffic as the police set up cordons.
Inside the court, many lawyers who were not connected with the case could be seen in courtroom No. 210 — where the verdict was pronounced — or nearby, hoping to catch the proceedings in the case that shook the state.
Around 9.45am, people began gathering outside the Sealdah court as tension filled the air over the highly anticipated verdict.
Among them was Bimal Kumar Das, 58, a resident of Agarpara in North 24-Parganas. For the past five months, Das has been following the case closely.
“If the verdict does not deliver justice, the case will lose its importance,” he said.
“I have a 23-year-old daughter who has to go out at night. How can I feel safe if justice is not delivered?” he added.
The police had cleared the left side of the footpath near the court, where vendors usually sell their wares.
At 12.58pm, a police van brought Roy to the court amid chants of “Sanjay Roy er fanshi chai (We demand Sanjay Roy be hanged)”.
Roy was convicted. But members of Abhaya Mancha, a citizens’ group formed during the protests against the junior doctor’s rape and murder, were not satisfied.
Protesters gathered near Sealdah Metro station, chanting slogans and questioning the investigation.
Retired railway employee Babu Kumar Karmakar, 64, who came from New Town for the verdict, was one of them. “Justice cannot be complete if only one individual is held accountable. The larger conspiracy must be thoroughly probed,” he said.