Bilkis Bano case: SC to hear plea to revoke remission of 11 convicts today

India

oi-Prakash KL

New
Delhi,
Aug
24:
The
Supreme
Court
will
hear
the
pleas
moved
against
the
release
of
11
persons,
who
were
convicted
in
the
case
of
gang-rape
of
2002
Gujarat
riots
survivor
Bilkis
Bano
and
the
murder
of
her
seven
family
members.

The
plea
before
the
apex
court
was
filed
by
members
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
Subhashini
Ali,
journalist
Revati
Laul,
and
social
activist
and
professor
Roop
Rekha
Verma.

Last
week,
the
11
convicts
walked
out
of
the
Godhra
sub-jail
after
the
Gujarat
government
allowed
their
release
under
its
remission
policy.

No
justification:
Devendra
Fadnavis
on
Bilkis
Bano
convicts’
felicitation

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.

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.

The
convicts
were
released
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
Rs
50
lakh
compensation,
a
job
and
accommodation
to
Bilkis.