Convict in RG Kar case may work as gardener

The convict in the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, Sanjay Roy, is likely to work as a gardener initially in Presidency Correctional Home where he is lodged, an official said on Wednesday.

Roy, a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, would later be trained before being engaged in some other jobs such as tailoring, carpentry, or manufacturing of aluminium utensils, he said.

As an unskilled labour, the convict would be paid a daily wage of Rs 105, the official of the Presidency Correctional Home said.

A Kolkata court on Monday sentenced Roy to life imprisonment till death after he was convicted for the rape and murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year.

"In the correctional home, all prisoners are made to do some jobs. Sanjay is an unskilled person. But we have to engage him in jobs that require hard labour. So, for the time being, he may be engaged in gardening. This will start in a day or two," he told PTI.

Roy might also work in the kitchen.

"If he cannot cook, he will be asked to serve food and clean the dishes. Work allotment is done every day in the morning or at the start of a week," he said.

In Presidency Correctional Home, jobs done by prisoners require some skill and so Roy would need training, the official said.

As is done to others, the authorities at the correctional home would keep a "notebook" where his activities would be recorded, the official said.

The money he would earn as wage would be transferred to an account maintained by the state correctional homes department.

While an unskilled worker gets a daily wage of Rs 105, the same for a semi-skilled and skilled prisoner is Rs 120 and Rs 135, respectively.