12 Kolkata: A day before judgment was delivered, family members of Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder, expressed their faith in the judiciary to punish those involved in the crime.
Ever since Roy's arrest, none of the family members has ever gone to meet him and not even a lawyer has been engaged. It was the court that had appointed a counsel from the Legal Aid Defence Council Service (LADCS) to defend Roy.
"We have faith in the judiciary, we hope justice is delivered to the victim," said Sanjay's elder sister, standing at the door of a one-room home inside a slum near Sambhunath Pandit Street. A dupatta wrapped around her face, she was clearly not comfortable answering the questions. "This is my in-laws' house and the incident has put everyone under scanner. Even though we never thought of Sanjay committing the crime, we can't escape the consequences," she said. "We don't know what exactly happened or who was responsible. That is for the police to find out."
As she spoke, some neighbours tried to inch closer. "You can see how we are living here," said the sister. "We believe the judiciary will assess the argument of all sides and deliver justice. But he may not be the only person involved."
A few metres away lives Roy's mother. As she continued to chop vegetables, she mumbled: "Don't ask me, I don't know anything. I will have to work as long as I live and there is no respite from it. Everything is finished for me," she said."I have become old, I don't even have the energy to ask for updates." Asked if she hoped for the truth to emerge, she stared blankly. "How can I stop these thoughts crowding my mind?" she said.