An Indian court handed down a life sentence on Monday to a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, rejecting demands for the death penalty saying it was not a rare crime.

A court in India's Kolkata has sentenced the man convicted of raping and murdering a junior doctor to life imprisonment. The Indian court's judgement came as a disappointment to the victim's parents.

Sanjay Roy, a police volunteer, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor attacked while on duty in Kolkata — a crime that sparked widespread protests across India.

Trial court judge Anirban Das condemned the police and hospital actions in the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, pointing out delays and attempts to cover up the crime. The accused was found guilty, with evidence showing his impulsive attack.

KOLKATA: The rapist and murderer of an Indian doctor was sentenced to life in prison on Monday (Jan 20) for a gruesome crime that sparked nationwide protests and widespread hospital strikes last year.

Kolkata rape and murder case 1990: Almost two decades ago, Dhananjoy Chatterjee hit the headlines after a court convicted him for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl on March 5, 1990. After 14 years of the heinous crime, Chatterjee was executed in Kolkata on August 14, 2004.

The BJP on Monday criticised the sentence of life imprisonment for the convict in the RG Kar rape-murder case by a Kolkata court as a "travesty of justice", and said justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done.

An Indian court has sentenced a police volunteer to life in prison after finding him guilty in the rape and killing of a trainee doctor last year

A court in India has convicted a man of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor - a crime that sparked nationwide outrage. Sanjay Roy, a hospital volunteer worker, was found guilty over the attack, which happened in August last year at a hospital in Kolkata city in West Bengal state.

Protests erupted in West Bengal last August after the body of a trainee doctor was found with multiple injuries in a hospital lecture hall.