DNA Explainer: Who is Bilkis Bano? Why did Gujarat government release 11 men who gang-raped her?

The Gujarat government recently decided to release the 11 men who were convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, with several counts of murder. The 11 men who were sentenced to life imprisonment walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15, on orders of the Gujarat government.

The release of the 11 convicts in the gang rape case dated 2002 sparked a massive outrage by the opposition parties in Gujarat, especially due to the sensitive nature of the case. Here is all you need to know about who is Bilkis Bano, and what happened in 2002.

Who is Bilkis Bano?

Bilkis Bano was one of the many Muslim residents of Gujarat who were trying to flee the state during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Bilkis Bano, along with her family, was trying to flee her village along with her toddler daughter and 15 members of her family in 2002, when violence in Gujarat was at its peak.

On March 3, Bano – who was five months pregnant at the time – was taking shelter in a field along with several other family members and her 3-year-old daughter, when a mob of 20-30 men attacked them with weapons like sickles, swords, and sticks.

Seven members of Bano’s family were murdered by the rioters who had attacked them, while she was gang raped by the mob. Her 3-year-old daughter was snatched away from her during the attack and was murdered when her head was smashed on a rock by one attacker.

Due to the horrific nature of the crime and the outrage that followed, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe in the matter and 11 of Bilkis Bano’s attackers were convicted in the matter and sent to life imprisonment over the heinous incident.

Why were Bilkis Bano’s rapists released by Gujarat government?

The 11 men convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case years after the 2002 Gujarat riots had been in jail for over 14 years, but were prematurely released by the Gujarat government under the remission policy, as per an official.

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. Panchmahals Collector Sujal Mayatra headed the panel that looked into the premature release of these convicts.

"A committee formed a few months back took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case. The recommendation was sent to the state government, and yesterday we received the orders for their release,” Mayatra said, as per PTI reports.

Human rights lawyer Shamshad Pathan said on Monday night that a large number of convicts who have committed a less heinous crime than the Bilkis case continue to languish in jails without any remission.

(With PTI inputs)

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