It is irking people that Bilkis Bano’s 11 rapists and killers of her family were freed on Independence Day while many are still in jail
In 2002, Bilkis Bano’s life changed forever when she, pregnant was raped by 11 men, while they smashed her arm breaking it, raped her mother, and her two sisters and killed her 3-year-old daughter in front of her, and took turns raping Bilkis. Bilkis only survived because they left her thinking she was dead.
The 11 men who were sentenced for gang-raping 21-year-old Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat riots and then brutally murdering 7 members of her family. 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 Ms. Bilkis Bano’s family. The Bombay High Court later upheld their conviction.
These men are now roaming freely in the same village as Bilkis released due to “lack of evidence.” On August 15, the 11 convicts ambled out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat Government allowed their release under its remission policy.
The shocking news comes out that the Central government gave the go-ahead to release them under the direction of Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs while the CBI and court opposed this.
Dr. Shama Mohamed from Congress said, “So @AmitShah we hear that you gave the go-ahead to release 11 gang rapists & murderers in Gujarat! Now You will have to answer to the women of this country!”
So @AmitShah we hear that you gave the go ahead to release 11 gang rapists & murderers in Gujarat! Now You will have to answer to the women of this country !
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) October 17, 2022
Famed YouTuber, Dhruv Rathee tweeted, “Modiji ne Rapists ka release approve kiya?
Jo kiya kuch soch ke hi kiya hoga.. 🤡”
Modiji ne Rapists ka release approve kiya?
Jo kiya kuch soch ke hi kiya hoga.. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/7kfK2yJQi6
— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) October 18, 2022
While such nefarious criminals are being released, ailing activist Atikur Rahman is still in jail just for going to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to report on the Hathras case. Is this any reason to be in jail? His mother demanded the release of her son in September, saying that she is concerned for his life, reported Maktoob media because he has life-threatening health conditions and is not getting the proper care.
The 28-year-old activist was arrested, along with Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, en route to Hathras in October 2020. At the time of his arrest, Rahman received treatment for a congenital heart condition.
Earlier this month, his family and lawyer claimed that he has become “partially paralyzed” and “highly disoriented.” In view of his deteriorating health, Rahman was admitted to Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University (KGMU) hospital.
“As a mother, if your child detaches from you for two hours, you know how anxious you get. My son is in jail, away from me for two years,” said Rahman’s mother Raabiya, in a press conference at the Press Club of India in September.
On the other side, ex-student activist Umar Khalid completed two years in jail on September 13, 2022. He was arrested in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots in 2020 by the Delhi Police on September 13, 2020, and booked under provisions of The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Delhi Police charged Khalid with disrupting religious sentiments and argued that he was a part of a larger conspiracy in the riots that shook the national capital. On the completion of his two years in jail, a letter he wrote in reply to educator Rohit Kumar was published by The Wire. He expressed how he crumbles against the perils of loneliness. “How do we fight against this monstrous machine of lies and falsehood? The purveyors of hate and falsehood have so many resources – money, pliant 24×7 news channels, lots of them, troll armies, and the police too. To be honest, Rohit, it makes me feel pessimistic at times. At times I also feel lonely.” Khalid writes.
The inequity of the courts seems to stick out like an ugly jawbone with different treatments meted out to different people, the law does not look equal for all.
A netizen tweeted, “10 out of 11 convicts serving life sentences in the Bano case were out on parole, leave, and temporary bail for more than a thousand days. The 11th convict in the case was out of jail for 998 days but the judge fails to grant bail to Umar Khalid and ailing Atikur Rahman.”
#बिलकिस_बानो बानो मामले में उम्र कैद की सजा काट रहे 11 में से 10 गुनाहगार पेरोल, छुट्टी और अस्थायी जमानत पर एक हज़ार दिनों से ज़्यादा बाहर रहे थे। मामले में 11वां दोषी 998 दिनों तक जेल से बाहर रहा था लेकिन उमर खालिद और बीमार अतिकुर्रहमान को जमानत देने में जज साहब को मौ* आ जाती है pic.twitter.com/iGJWY2htVY
— Iram😍 (@iram_cutie) October 20, 2022
Renowned cartoonist Satish Acharya drew a heartbreaking cartoon with a message that said, “Earlier, we used to release pigeons but now, we release rapists.” The release of Bilkis Bano’s rapists gives a message to India that it is okay to rape women and kill them.
'Earlier we used to release pigeons ..' @moliticsindia cartoon. #BilkisBanoCase pic.twitter.com/vSBEhh4wae
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) October 20, 2022
Congress reacts sharply and asks if this is the ‘New India?’ As Bilkis Bano’s rapists walk free and they set out videos questioning the government.
Earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi also hit out at Modi over the move.
The CPI(M) also strongly condemned the release of the convicts, saying “this is the real face of New India — convicted killers and rapists released” and activist Teesta Setalvad “who fought for justice was jailed”
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale said Bilkis Bano was “raped in the 2002 Gujarat pogrom and her entire family was murdered and buried in a mass grave”.
The 11 convicts, serving life imprisonment for the gang rape of a pregnant Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members, were freed by the Gujarat government as part of its remission policy.
Sanjay Jha former national spokesperson for the Congress party, Former President of All India Professionals Congress, Maharashtra. Jha is the executive director of Dale Carnegie Training operations in India said sharply, “If the BJP wins any further election despite its shameful, disgusting, and sickening act in the release of the rapists of #BilkisBano, it will be a manifestation of the severe decline of our values. Our morality.
The excuse that “ there is no alternative to PM Modi” is rubbish”
His crisp message hits the heart to awaken the conscience of the nation.
If the BJP wins any further election despite its shameful, disgusting and sickening act in the release of the rapists of #BilkisBano, it will be a manifestation of the severe decline of our values. Our morality.
The excuse that “ there is no alternative to PM Modi” is rubbish.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) October 20, 2022