A day after 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case were released from jail, a video surfaced online showing a few men—apparently their family members—touching their feet and offering them sweet outside the Godhra sub-jail. The convicts walked out of jail on Monday after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.
A special CBI court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, sentenced the eleven 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.
These convicts had served more than 15 years in jail after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.
The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence following which the government formed a committee. The committee took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case.
Bilkis Bano's family members were attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of the Dahod district during the post-Godhra riots on March 3, 2002.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was raped while fleeing the violence that broke out in the aftermath of the Sabarmati Express train burning incident.
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.
Shailesh Bhatt, one of the convicts, told PTI on Tuesday that they were "victims of politics".
“We were arrested in 2004 and remained in jail for more than 18 years. It feels good to be home with my family members. Everybody is happy that we are back. My son was eight or nine years old then, now he is an adult and works with Panchmahal Dairy. I am happy for him," he told PTI.
With PTI inputs
