All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after all eleven convicts were convicted for the post-Godhra 2002 Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder of seven members of his family. Was sentenced to life imprisonment. After the Godhra sub-jail, the Gujarat government allowed his release under its remission policy.
The Hyderabad MP took to Twitter to slam the PM’s Independence Day speech and said, “This is the BJP’s version of the elixir of freedom.”
“Those who are guilty of a heinous crime have been given freedom. The BJP’s bias for one religion is such that even brutal rape and hate crimes are forgivable. Will BJP-Shinde Maha Sarkar form a committee to consider the exemption of Rubina Memon also? He asked.
On January 21, 2008, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai sentenced eleven accused to life imprisonment for the gang rape and murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano. Later the Bombay High Court upheld his sentence.
These convicts had served more than 15 years in jail after which one of them had approached the Supreme Court seeking his premature release.
Panchmahal Collector Sujal Mayatra, who chaired the panel, said the apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of his remission, following which the government constituted a committee.
These convicts had served more than 15 years in jail after which one of them had approached the Supreme Court seeking his premature release.
Panchmahal Collector Sujal Mayatra, who chaired the panel, said the apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence, following which the government constituted a committee.
Bilkis Bano gang rape
On February 27, 2002, 59 kar sevaks were killed after violence broke out in a compartment of the Sabarmati Express when Bilkis Bano, five months pregnant at the time, fled the village with her baby girl and 15 others.
On 3 March, he took refuge in a field when a mob of 20-30 people armed with sickles, swords and sticks attacked him and Bilkis Bano was gang-raped while seven members of his family were killed. Six other members managed to escape.
Seeing outrage over the incident, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI inquiry.
The accused in this case were arrested in 2004.
Trial started in Ahmedabad. However, after Bilkis Bano expressed apprehensions that witnesses might be harmed and the evidence collected by the CBI could be tampered with, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.
On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court had sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment for the gang-rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family.
He was convicted under the Indian Penal Code on charges of conspiracy to rape, murder and unlawful assembly of a pregnant woman.
The special court acquitted seven other accused for want of evidence. One of the accused had died during the trial.
Upholding the conviction of the accused persons in its 2018 order, the Bombay High Court acquitted seven persons. In April 2019, the Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation, a job and a house to Bilkis Bano.
The 11 convicts who were granted premature release 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.
One of them, Radheshyam Shah, had approached the Gujarat High Court for waiving the sentence under sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
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