The Supreme Court will hear three petitions challenging the release of 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case from the 2002 Gujarat riots. The convicts were released on August 15, Independence Day, by the Gujarat government under an outdated remission policy.
The remission and subsequent release of 11 convicts from Godhra sub-jail on August 15 under the Gujarat government’s remission policy sparked a debate about such relief in heinous cases.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear petitions filed by CPM leader Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, and one other person. After hearing submissions from senior advocates Kapil Sibal (appearing for Subhashini Ali) and Abhishek Singhvi (appearing for Mahua Moitra), as well as lawyer Aparna Bhat, a bench led by Chief Justice NV Ramana agreed to hear the case.
“We are only challenging the remission and not the Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court order is fine, My Lords. We are challenging the principles on the basis of which remission was granted,” Sibal said on Tuesday while seeking an urgent hearing of the plea. Bhat also said that the apex court’s earlier order asking the state government to consider the remission aspect was not challenged.
On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai sentenced the 11 to life in prison on charges of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family. The Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court later upheld their convictions. Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the violence that erupted following the burning of the Godhra train. Her three-year-old daughter was among those killed.
The state had witnessed riots after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 passengers, mainly ‘kar sevaks’, were burnt to death.
Many Residents of Bilkas Bano’s Village Move Out Fearing Safety After Release of Convicts; Cops Deployed
A resident of Randhikpur village in Gujarat’s Dahod district where Bilkis Bano was gang raped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 riots, on Tuesday claimed many Muslims have left the village over the safety concern following the release of the 11 life-term convicts.
While police have increased security in Randhikpur as the men released from the jail hail from a neighbouring village, they have ruled out any exodus by villagers.
Shahrukh Sheikh, a resident of Randhikpur, said 70 Muslim families are living in fear while many others have moved out and started staying with their relatives and well-wishers in other areas.
“We are scared. Several people have left the village out of fear of violence from the side of the convicts after their release. We have appealed to the collector to put the convicts behind bars and provide safety to the villagers,” news agency PTI quoted Sheikh, who works as a daily wager, as saying.
On Monday, villagers reportedly handed over a memorandum to the Dahod district collector in which they expressed their fear, claiming that many Randhikpur residents are fleeing while continuing to work.
Villagers said they were leaving because they are concerned about their safety, particularly that of women. They will not return until the 11 convicts are apprehended, according to the memorandum. The convicts, who are from a village near Randhikpur, are not in the area, according to police, but some villagers have left.
“We have deployed police personnel at fixed points after talking to local people and intensified patrolling after the villagers expressed concern over their safety,” Deputy Superintendent of Police RB Devdha was quoted as saying.
He said some villagers have left their homes and gone to live with their relatives in other towns. Police are in touch with the people in Randhikpur and addressing their concerns, the DYSP said. Dahod superintendent of police Balram Meena said the 11 convicts are natives of Singvad village near Randhikpur but they are not present in the area.