International Desk

An Indian man on trial for raping and murdering a 31-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty, his lawyer said Saturday, a crime that appalled the nation and triggered wide-scale protests.

The discovery of the doctor's bloodied body at a government hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata on 9 August sparked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.

Sanjoy Roy, 33, the lone accused in the case, pleaded not guilty before the judge in a closed court on Friday in Kolkata, his lawyer Sourav Bandyopadhyay told AFP.

"I am not guilty, your honour, I have been framed," Roy told the court, Bandyopadhyay said, repeating his client's words.

Roy, a civic volunteer in the hospital, was arrested the day after the murder and has been held in custody since.

He would potentially face the death penalty if convicted.

The court began hearings on 11 November, listening to evidence from some 50 witnesses, but it was on Friday that Roy took the stand.

"Judge Anirban Das questioned him with more than 100 questions during the six-hour-long in camera deposition, that continued until late in the evening", Bandyopadhyay said.

Roy had earlier proclaimed his innocence to the public while screaming from a prison van outside the court before a hearing in November.

Doctors in Kolkata went on strike for weeks in response to the brutal attack.

Tens of thousands of ordinary Indians joined in the protests, which focused anger on the lack of measures for female doctors to work without fear.

India's Supreme Court has ordered a national task force to examine how to bolster security for healthcare workers, saying the brutality of the killing had "shocked the conscience of the nation".

The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.

The trial continues. The next hearing is set for 2 January 2025.