Mamata govt wants death for RG Kar convict, moves HC

Having faced allegations from various quarters of trying to shield those involved in the RG Kar rape and murder incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded the death penalty for the convict, who was yesterday sentenced to lifelong imprisonment.

The West Bengal Government today moved the Calcutta High Court and got permission to file an appeal seeking the death penalty for the convict.

The state government’s move came less than 24 hours after Mamata announced her intent to challenge before a higher court the order of a Sealdah court that sentenced convict Sanjay Roy to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.

Advocate General Kishor Datta moved a Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi this morning, seeking the court’s permission to file an appeal challenging the order passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Sealdah, Anirban Das, on Monday. The judicial process pertaining to the case could start this week itself.

The Sealdah court had sentenced Roy to imprisonment for the remainder of his life, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a “rarest of the rare” crime.

The court also ordered Roy to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 and directed the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor.