Sanjay Roy’s conviction in the RG Kar rape and murder case came five months after the crime but the “fight for justice” would be a long haul, the victim’s father said on Sunday.
The family, he said, would strive to secure justice until the end and is preparing for legal battles.
The family is waiting for the sentencing of Roy by the Sealdah court on Monday, which they believe would lay the foundation for further court battles.
“We are determined to fight till the end. The road ahead is long because many powerful people must be brought to justice. Sanjay Roy’s conviction may have come in five months but the next steps will take a lot of time,” said the father, whose daughter, a postgraduate trainee doctor, was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
The father spoke briefly in the courtroom on Saturday when Roy was pronounced guilty by the additional district and sessions judge, Anirban Das.
He thanked the judge after being asked to come back on Monday for Roy’s sentencing.
“I am happy to the extent that the judge in his order criticised the role of the police and the hospital authorities. He said some of the acts of the then MSVP (medical superintendent and vice-principal) and the then principal created confusion in his mind. We got what we wanted,” the slain doctor’s father had told The Telegraph in the courtroom on Saturday.
On Sunday, he told this newspaper that lapses of the police and the hospital authorities would be the basis of further legal battles.
“The court raising questions about the actions of the hospital authorities and the police will help us in future legal battles. It gives a seal of approval to what we have been saying,” he said.
Late last year, the parents of the slain doctor had filed a petition in Calcutta High Court seeking further investigation into the case and expressing “disappointment” at the CBI investigation.
“The hearing is scheduled for February 5. We are trying to make a plea to bring forward the hearing,” he said.
The petition seeking a fresh probe raised questions about why several witnesses had been left out of the trial.
It asked why only two of the four junior doctors who were on duty with the victim on the night of the crime were called to depose before the court during the trial.
The petition also questioned why the assistant superintendent (non-medical) of RG Kar, who had called the family and allegedly said their daughter had committed suicide, was not made an accused in the case.
