An Indian court sentenced a volunteer policeman to life in prison on Monday finding him guilty In the rape and murder of a practicing doctor last year, a crime that sparked nationwide protests against inadequate security for women and led to a speedy trial in the country's slow-moving justice system.

Sanjay Rohy, 33, who has consistently maintained his innocence, can appeal the verdict in a higher court.

The doctor's family wept, saying they were “shocked” by the verdict and hoped her killer would be hanged. But Judge Anirban Das said the case did not merit the death penalty because it was not a “rare case” and ordered that Roy spend his life behind bars.

It The murder of a 31-year-old doctor while she was on duty at a hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata, highlighted the chronic problem of violence against women in the country. Police found the woman's bloody body in the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital last August 9. An autopsy revealed that she had been strangled and sexually assaulted :

Federal police investigating the case said the crime deserved the death penalty.The victim's parents had also sought the death penalty for Roy and said they suspected more people were involved in the crime.

The case was initially investigated by the Kolkata police, but a court later handed over the investigation to federal investigators after state government officials were accused of mishandling the investigation.

After the attack, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding better security.Thousands of women also protested in the streets demanding swift justice for the victim.

Indian doctors in government hospitals in several states also staged a strike to protest against rape and murder.

Roy was arrested a day after the crime, and the disputes in the case began in November. The attack prompted India's Supreme Court to set up a national task force to suggest ways to improve security in government hospitals.

The victim's mother and father, who sat next to Roy in court on Monday, said they wanted Roy to be executed.

“We are shocked by the verdict,” the victim's father told AFP, tears streaming down his face.

“We will continue our fight and will not allow the investigation to be stopped… Whatever happens, we will fight for justice.”

Family members cannot be identified in accordance with Indian law on sexual abuse reporting.

Ahead of the sentencing, Roy again insisted on Monday that he was innocent and that he had been “framed”.

Roy's lawyer, Kabita Sarkar, said he was “not mentally stable” and that they would appeal.

Police stopped several marchers from entering the court, but thousands of people gathered nearby chanting: “Hang him, hang him!”

Many cases crimes against women Under-reporting in India due to the stigma attached to sexual violence, as well as a lack of faith in the police.Women's rights advocates say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where the community sometimes shames victims of sexual violence and families worry about their social status.

Nationwide outrage and protests followed 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.The brutal attack prompted India to adopt tougher laws against sexual violence, but as of 2022, authorities were still recording an average of 90 rapes per day, according to the latest available government data.

The government has also imposed the death penalty for repeat offenders. Four men sentenced to death for the 2012 crime were hanged in 2020.

The rape law, which was amended in 2013, also criminalized stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age of majority from 18 to 16.

Activists say the new sentencing requirements have not deterred rapes, and the number of reported rapes has increased. In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape, a 20% increase from 2021. National Crime Bureau.

Police in south India last week arrested 49 of the 64 men is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl over the past five years. The girl, whose identity has not been disclosed, told the investigators that since she was 13 years old, she was subjected to repeated sexual violence and gang rape.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.