11 life term convicts being released surprises family of Bilkis Bano

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Ahmedabad,
Aug
16:
The
husband
of
Bilkis
Bano
on
Tuesday
said
they
were
surprised
after
coming
to
know
from
the
media
about
the
release
of
all
11
convicts
sentenced
to
life
imprisonment
for
her
gang
rape
and
murder
of
seven
members
of
her
family
during
the
2002
Gujarat
riots.

Bilkis
Bano’s
husband
Yakub
Rasul
told
PTI
that
he
does
not
intend
to
comment
on
the
latest
development
in
the
case
on
Monday.

Rasul
said
he,
his
wife
and
five
sons,
the
eldest
now
aged
20,
continue
to
live
without
a
fixed
address,
more
than
20
years
after
the
incident.

The
11
convicts
on
Monday
walked
out
of
the
Godhra
sub-jail
after
the
Gujarat
government
allowed
their
release
under
its
remission
policy.

Bilkis
Bano
gang-rape:
All
11
life
imprisonment
convicts
walk
out
of
Godhra
jail

A
special
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation
(CBI)
court
in
Mumbai
on
January
21,
2008,
sentenced
the
11
accused
to
life
imprisonment
on
the
charge
of
gang
rape
and
murder
of
seven
members
of
Bilkis
Bano’s
family.
Their
conviction
was
later
upheld
by
the
Bombay
High
Court.

Rasul
said
he
came
to
know
about
their
release
from
the
media,
according
to
news
agency
PTI.

“We
had
no
knowledge
about
when
they
(convicts)
processed
their
application
and
which
judgement
the
state
government
took
into
consideration.
We
never
received
any
kind
of
notice
and
were
not
told
about
this.
There
was
no
way
we
could
have
known
about
this
in
advance,”
he
said.

Asked
about
his
reaction
to
the
government’s
decision,
Rasul
said
he
does
not
know
what
to
say.

“We
don’t
intend
to
say
anything
on
this.
I
can
talk
only
after
getting
the
details.
All
we
want
to
do
is
pray
for
peace
of
the
souls
of
our
near
and
dear
ones
we
lost
their
lives
in
the
riots.
Everyday
we
remember
those
who
were
killed
in
the
incident,
including
our
daughter,”
he
said.

Rasul
said
the
Gujarat
government
paid
the
family
a
compensation
of
₹
50
lakh
as
directed
by
the
Supreme
Court.

“But
the
government
has
not
yet
made
any
arrangements
for
a
job
or
house
as
directed
by
the
Supreme
Court,”
he
said.

The
family
continues
to
live
virtually
in
hiding
without
a
fixed
address,
he
said.

“We
have
no
fixed
address
yet,
we
can’t
yet
talk
about
where
we
live,
it
is
quite
difficult
for
us
to
do
so,”
he
said.

The
compensation
money,
he
said,
was
being
used
for
the
education
of
his
sons.

The 11 convicts who were granted premature release are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

Radheshyam
Shah,
the
convict
whose
plea
for
premature
release
paved
the
way
for
all
the
11
life
sentence
convicts
to
walk
out
of
jail,
said
he
feels
happy
to
be
released.

“The
Gujarat
government
has
released
us
as
per
the
order
of
the
Supreme
Court.
I
feel
glad
to
be
out
as
I
will
be
able
to
meet
my
family
members
and
begin
a
new
life,”
he
said.

“We
were
convicted
and
lodged
in
jail.
When
I
was
not
released
after
completing
14
years
in
jail,
I
approached
the
Supreme
Court
for
remission.
The
top
court
directed
the
Gujarat
government
to
take
a
decision,
after
which
we
were
released,”
he
said.

The
convicts
were
released
on
Monday
under
the
Gujarat
government’s
remission
policy
after
they
completed
more
than
15
years
in
jail.

On
March
3,
2002,
Bilkis
Bano’s
family
was
attacked
by
a
mob
at
Randhikpur
village
in
Limkheda
taluka
of
Dahod
district
during
the
post-Godhra
riots.
Bilkis,
who
was
five
months
pregnant
at
that
time,
was
gang-raped
and
seven
members
of
her
family
were
killed.

The
Supreme
Court
had
in
April
2019
directed
the
Gujarat
government
to
give
₹
50
lakh
compensation,
a
job
and
accommodation
to
Bilkis.

The
11
convicts
who
walked
out
of
the
jail
were
convicted
for
gang
rape
of
a
pregnant
woman,
murder
and
unlawful
assembly
under
sections
of
the
Indian
Penal
Code.

While
convicting
them,
the
special
court
had
acquitted
seven
accused
citing
lack
of
evidence.

One
of
the
accused
had
died
during
the
course
of
the
trial.

The
Bombay
High
Court
had
on
May
3,
2017
upheld
their
conviction.
It
also
convicted
seven
others,
including
five
policemen
and
two
doctors,
under
IPC
sections
218
(not
performing
their
duties)
and
201
(tampering
with
evidence).

Riots
had
erupted
in
Gujarat
following
the
burning
of
a
Sabarmati
Express
coach
that
killed
59
‘karsevaks
‘on
February
27,
2002.

The
violence
had
claimed
the
lives
of
1,044
people,
mostly
Muslims,
across
different
parts
of
the
state.

The
central
government
had
informed
the
Rajya
Sabha
in
May
2005
that
254
Hindus
and
790
Muslims
were
killed
in
the
post-Godhra
riots.