New Delhi, October 19, 2022 (PPI-OT): A court document has revealed that the 11 Hindutva members convicted for the gang rape of Muslim woman Bilkis Bano and the killing of her family members were out of the jail for over a thousand days on parole while serving life sentences. Bilkis Bano was just 21 when she was gang-raped by Hindutva fanatics and seven members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, were killed by the Hindutva fanatics during the anti-Muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002. The convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment in jail by a special court in Mumbai. The sentence was later also upheld by the Bombay High Court.
The document showed that one of the convicts was out of the jail for over 1,500 days before all of them were released by the Gujarat government on August 15, the Indian Independence Day. It mentioned that Rameshbhai Rupabhai Chandana enjoyed 1,198 days of parole leave and 378 days of furlough (short-term temporary release of convicts from jail), amounting to a total 1,576 days outside the jail. Two others were outside for more than 1,200 days.
The Gujarat government in its affidavit told the Indian Supreme Court that the convicts were prematurely released after the Narendra Modi-led Indian central government’s approval, even though the Central Bureau of Investigation and a special court had opposed their release for committing the “heinous” crime. The document showed that the Indian home ministry’s clearance came on July 11, within two weeks of the state government seeking its approval. The Indian apex court is now hearing three petitions challenging the release of the convicts.
The document showed that the CBI last year opposed the premature release of the convicts stating they committed an offence that was “heinous, grave and serious”. A special judge had also opposed the release, it showed, as he noted that “the crime was committed only on the ground that the victims belong to a particular religion. In this case, even minor children were not spared.” “This is worst form of hate crime and crime against the humanity. It affects the conscious of society,” said Special Judge Anand L Yawalkar in a letter to the Superintendent of the Godhra sub-jail in March last year.
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