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.

Roy was declared guilty by the court on Saturday under Sections 66 (rape), 64 (causing injury resulting in death) and 103 (1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)

A Kolkata court will pronounce the quantum of punishment of Sanjay Roy, who has been convicted of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.