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

A Kolkata court on Monday criticised the authorities at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and the police for attempting to cover up the murder of a junior doctor as a suicide, Live Law reported.

An Indian court on Monday sentenced a police volunteer to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor last year – a crime that sparked nationwide protests. Sanjay Roy, 33, plans to appeal the judgment in a higher court.

The police had sought the death penalty in a horrific but familiar crime. Its handling by the local authorities had outraged the nation.

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.

A sessions court in Kolkata will pronounce today the quantum of sentence for Sanjay Roy. Follow The Hindu’s live updates

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.

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.

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

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.