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.

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 decision to challenge the trial court’s sentence of life imprisonment came hours after the central agency opposed a similar plea by the state government.

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

An Indian police volunteer was convicted on Saturday (January 18) of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city Kolkata, in the speedy trial of a crime that sparked national outrage over a lack of safety for women.

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

The family of the doctor broke into tears, saying they were "shocked" at the sentence and had hoped her murderer would be sentenced to death.

A court in India has given the life sentence to a man for the rape and murder of a junior doctor, a crime that sparked nationwide outrage and protests. The judge rejected demands for the death penalty but said that Sanjoy Roy,