Kolkata, July 9 (IANS) Civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in Kolkata in January this year, on Wednesday, approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the trial court order and seeking complete acquittal from all the charges in the case.

The petition has been admitted and the matter is expected to come up for its first hearing at the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi next week and most likely on Monday.

Soon after the trial court in Kolkata pronounced life imprisonment in January this year, his counsel, who was appointed to represent him by the State Legal Aid Services, claimed that they would be challenging the trial court’s decision at the Calcutta High Court.

Now after five months since the life sentence was announced, Roy’s counsel has approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the trial court order.

The body of the woman junior doctor of the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was recovered from a seminar hall within the hospital premises in the morning of August 9 last year.

Initially, Kolkata Police took over the investigation and arrested Roy.

Later, the CBI took over the investigation in the matter following an order of the Calcutta High Court.

After a prolonged investigation, CBI also identified him as the prime accused in connection with the R.G. Kar rape and murder case.

During the period of investigation, although CBI arrested the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh and the former officer-in-charge of Tala police station, Abhijit Mondal, on charges of tampering with and altering the evidence in the case.

However, both Ghosh and Mondal were granted “default bail” by the trial court as CBI failed to file supplementary charge sheets against both of them in the matter.

After a prolonged hearing in the matter for months, finally, the trial court first convicted Sanjay Roy for committing the crime of rape and murder and then sentenced him to life imprisonment in January this year.

Meanwhile, CBI has also approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a death sentence for Roy.

–IANS

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