The 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case were released on order of the central government earlier this year, and are slowly returning to normalcy, while the family of the victim continues to live in isolation and fear after the remission of the gang rapists.
All 11 convicts, who were jailed and sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots, have now settled down in the Randhikpur village in Gujarat, with the shop of one of the convicts right across the old house of Bano.
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After their release, the convicts of the gruesome gang rape and murder are saying that they are innocent. In a recent interview with NDTV, one of the convicts said that such an incident is against the Hindu culture, and can never be committed by him.
Govind Nai, who remained in prison for 14 years for raping Bilkis Bano, told NDTV, “We're innocent. Have you seen an uncle and nephew rape, someone, in front of each other? Does it happen in the Hindu community? No, Hindus don't do that.”
Citing this statement by Nai, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra slammed the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the MHA approved their release. Taking to Twitter, she said, “So says Govind Nai, Bilkis’ convicted rapist & killer of innocents. This beast has been let out by ModiShah’s govt.”
The 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were granted remission and were released by the Gujarat government in August for “good behavior”. However, media reports state that some of the convicts had harassed a woman and tried to threaten witnesses while they were out on parole.
Bilkis Bano was gang raped by a group of men while she was trying to flee her village during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The mob also killed several members of her family that night, including Bano’s three-year-old daughter.
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