A police volunteer has been found guilty of raping and murdering a trainee doctor on duty in Kolkata, a crime that has sparked protests across India over concerns for women's safety.

The killing of a 31-year-old doctor in August drew national attention to violence against women and girls in India. Because of the outcry over the case, the country's legal system moved quickly to hear the case.

Judge Anirban Das said the sentence for Sanjay Roy, 33, would be announced on Monday. His sentence could range from life imprisonment to death.

On August 9, the police found the woman's body in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. An autopsy found she had been strangled and a sexual assault had occurred.

Roy was arrested a day after the incident. He has always maintained his innocence and told the court that he is not guilty.

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

Following the attack, doctors and medical students across India held protests and rallies demanding justice and better security. Thousands of women are also protesting in the streets, participating in the "Take Back the Night" march, demanding justice for the victims. Some protesters called for the death penalty for the perpetrators.

The attack prompted India's Supreme Court to set up a national task force to come up with ways to tighten security measures at government hospitals.

In India, many crimes against women go unreported due to the stigma of sexual violence and a lack of trust in the police. Women's rights activists say the problem is particularly acute in rural areas, where victims of sexual assault are sometimes shamed and families worry about their social status.

The number of rape cases recorded in India has increased in recent years. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape in 2022, a 20% increase on 2021.

In 2012, a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and murdered on a New Delhi bus, triggering large-scale protests across India. It has inspired lawmakers to order tougher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts to hear rape cases. The government also imposed the death penalty on repeat offenders.

The 2013 revision of the Rape Act also criminalized stalking and voyeurism and lowered the age at which adults can be tried from 18 to 16.