Eleven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002 post-Godhra Bilkis Bano gang rape case were released on Independence day. Moreover, these 11 people are convicts of murder of seven members of her family walked out of Godhra sub-jail on Monday. They were released after the Gujarat government intervened under its remission policy.
Mumbai High court
On January 2008, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai sentenced the eleven accused to life imprisonment. The charges were of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family. Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
According to NDTV, the convicts served in the jail for more than 15 years. Apparently, one of the convicts had approached the Supreme Court pleading for premature release.
Consequently, the apex court had directed the Gujarat government to take the necessary steps. Subsequently, the Gujarat government formed a committee.
Bilkis Bano case
According to NDTV, The Godhra riots started after burning the Sabarmati Express coach. 59 ‘kar sevaks’ were killed in this coach on February 27, 2002. During the riots, Bilkis Bano had to flee from her village along with her daughter who was a toddler then and 15 others. Bilkis Bano was five-month pregnant at that time.
Unfortunately, when they took shelter in a field, a mob of 20-30 people armed with sickles, swords and sticks attacked them. The mob killed seven members of her family and gang raped Bilkis Bano. However, six other members managed to run away.
CBI Probe
A outrage erupted over the incident. Hence, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe. The accused were arrested in 2004. However, when the trial began in Ahmedabad, Bilkis Bano expressed apprehensions that the witnesses could be harmed. Moreover, the evidence can also be tampered by the CBI. Consequently, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Mumbai in august in 2004.
Judgement
On 21 January, 2008, the CBI court sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment on the charge of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family.
Compensation
Later on in 2019, the Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to compensate Bilkis Bano with Rs.50 lakh, a job and a house to live in.
The 11 convicts
The 11 convicts who were released on Independence day are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana. However, one of them, Radheshyam Shah, had approached the Gujarat High Court seeking remission of the sentence under sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Many of them are unhappy with this decision. They feel that many people are still in prisons, who have done less heinous crimes than this. They are questioning the biased attitude of the government.
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