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.

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.

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.

Judge says case did not deserve the death penalty as it was not “the rarest of the rare cases"; victim's family says will continue to fight for justice.

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 rape and murder shocked the nation, igniting protests from junior doctors in West Bengal and demands for justice and improved safety measures in government hospitals.

An Indian court has sentenced the man convicted of raping and murdering a female doctor at a Kolkata hospital to life in prison.

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.