The convicts walked free on August 15 Independence Day under an outdated policy.
New Delhi:
The Centre and Gujarat fast-tracked the early release of 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots despite the CBI’s strong objections, a document reveals. The Supreme Court will hear the case today.
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The Union Home Ministry approved the release of the convicts within two weeks of a request from the Gujarat government. Gujarat had sought the Centre’s approval on June 28. The one-page sign-off came swiftly, on July 11.
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The Gujarat government told the Supreme Court that the men were released as they had been in jail for 14 years; their behaviour was found to be “good”; and the centre had approved it.
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The convicts walked free on August 15 Independence Day under an outdated policy in Gujarat, which set off a huge controversy. Outside prison, they were greeted ike heores with garlands and sweets.
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Both the Centre and Gujarat dismissed strong objections from the CBI and a special judge to freeing these men. The offence was “heinous, grave and serious” and deserved no leniency, the CBI had said last year.
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A special judge had called it the “worse form of hate crime…committed only on the ground that the victims belong to a particular religion. In this case, even minor children were not spared.”
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The documents also show the men enjoyed thousands of days of parole even before their premature release. Bilkis Bano had also reported harassment when the men were out on parole, which raises serious questions on the “good behaviour” claim. Even while releasing them, Gujarat cops didn’t clarify on security to Bilkis Bano.
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The Supreme Court, hearing petitions challenging the convicts’ release, had asked Gujarat to submit the entire record of the Bilkis Bano case and how the convicts were freed.
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Bilkis Bano was just 21 and pregnant when she was gang-raped by a mob that killed 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, whose head was bashed in with a rock. The family had been hiding in the fields as violence swept the state following the attack on Sabarmati Express, in which 59 ‘kar sevaks’ died.
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The level of their atrocity had brought Bilkis Bano the highest-ever compensation in a rape case — a job, a house and Rs 50 lakh — awarded by the Supreme Court in 2019.
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The convicts were sentenced to life term in jail by a special court in Mumbai, which was later upheld by the High Court.
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