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.

The CBI will file an appeal before the Calcutta High Court, seeking death sentence for Sanjay Roy, who was sentenced to "life imprisonment until death" by a Sealdah court in

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

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

India's West Bengal state launched an appeal on Tuesday to overturn a life sentence in favour of the death penalty for a police volunteer convicted of the rape and murder of a junior doctor, a senior lawyer aware of the development said.

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 found a police volunteer guilty for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, a crime that sparked countrywide protests.

Israel delayed implementing the deal. Palestinians said Israeli strikes on Gaza continued.

An India police volunteer was convicted on Saturday of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in the eastern city Kolkata, local media reported, in a speedy trial of a crime that sparked national outrage over the lack of safety for women.