2024 Kolkata rape and murder

On the night of 8 August 2024, a 31-year-old postgraduate resident physician at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, had dinner with colleagues and retired in a seminar hall after a 36-hour shift. At around 9:30 IST on 9 August, her body was discovered in the seminar hall in a semi-nude state with bleeding from her eyes, mouth, and genitals. College authorities initially told her family she had died by suicide, but an autopsy conducted that day led to registration of an unnatural death case.

The autopsy found that the victim had been raped and sexually assaulted before being strangled, with a fractured thyroid cartilage and deep wounds to her genital tract, lips, left leg, right hand, ring finger, neck, and face. Scratch marks on her face were assessed as consistent with fingernail injuries from an assailant. Reports of the amount of semen recovered from a vaginal swab led some doctors and the victim's parents to suggest possible gang rape; Kolkata Police disputed this, and a subsequent CBI investigation, reported in March 2025, concluded the incident was not an instance of gang rape.

On 10 August 2024, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy, who worked with the Kolkata Police disaster management force, was arrested on suspicion of committing the crime and reportedly gave an initial confession. On 13 August, the Calcutta High Court transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing lack of confidence in the Kolkata Police probe and possible risk of evidence destruction. Polygraph testing of Roy revealed inconsistencies in his account. Separately, the CBI investigated former college principal Sandip Ghosh and others over alleged financial irregularities and evidence handling; Ghosh was arrested multiple times in connection with financial fraud and later with alleged destruction of evidence, and Station House Officer Abhijit Mondal was also detained over evidence-tampering allegations. On 7 October 2024, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Roy for rape and murder.

The case triggered a 42-day strike by junior doctors in West Bengal demanding thorough investigation and improved hospital security, alongside nationwide "Reclaim the Night" protests, medical-fraternity strikes across India, and international demonstrations by the Indian diaspora in multiple countries. The Supreme Court of India took suo moto cognizance of the case, constituted a National Task Force to recommend workplace-safety measures for medical professionals, and ordered central security forces to protect the hospital. The West Bengal government subsequently introduced the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill, which was criticized by some legal commentators as a political response.

On 18 January 2025, Roy was convicted of rape and murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a fine and a compensation order for the victim's family; the trial judge, Anirban Das, declined to impose the death penalty. The victim's parents and some political figures publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence.