11 Convicts Of Rape And Murder Muslim Family Freed, Women Activists And Indian Society Outraged

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Joe Gratz)

JAKARTA - Eleven men who were sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a pregnant Muslim woman and her family during deadly riots in India's Gujarat state have been released, sparking anger against the country's Hindu nationalist government.

Bilkis Bano, then 21 years old and five months pregnant, was raped and seven members of his family were killed in the sectarian riots that broke out in February 2002 in Gujarat.

A Mumbai court sentenced the men to life in 2008 in one of the most high-profile cases following violence that killed nearly 1,000 people.

However, when they had served 15 years in prison, one of the convicts, Radheshyam Shah, appealed to the Supreme Court for release under the state's remission policy.

They walked free on India's Independence Day on Monday, after the state government run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party released them, citing "age, nature of crime, behavior in prison".

The high court in May asked the state government to decide on the Shah's application, with a committee formed to investigate the matter, said Sujal Mayatra, Panchmahal District Collector, who heads the committee.

"A few months ago the committee took a unanimous decision in favor of remission of all 11 convicts in this case and the recommendation was sent to the state government. We received orders for their release," Mayatra said.

Rewinding to 2022, violence erupted in the state city of Godhra in February, after the killing of 59 Hindu pilgrims by Muslims accused of setting fire to a train carriage as they returned from the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya.

At the time, Modi was the state's chief minister. The train killings come after days of statewide violence. More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, have died in days of unrest in the state, considered one of the worst examples of sectarian violence in modern India.

Bano, from Randhikpur near Ahmedabad and 15 others, including his toddler daughter Saleha and his day-old niece, had fled their village but were ambushed by Hindu mobs armed with sickles, swords and sticks.

She was gang-raped and her 3-year-old daughter was snatched from her arms and hit on the head with a rock. Six family members managed to escape and seven others whose bodies were not found were later pronounced dead, under Indian law which considers anyone missing for more than seven years to be considered dead.

Bano was borrowing clothes from a local woman when she came to her senses and made it to the police station. He identified all of the attackers, who lived in the same neighborhood and were known to his family.

The 11 were arrested in 2004. The trial began in Ahmedabad, but was later moved to Mumbai after Bano received death threats and amid concerns over evidence tampering with and injuring witnesses.

A special court in January 2008 sentenced the 11 people to life in prison, on charges of gang rape and gang murder.

The court, however, acquitted seven people, including a police officer accused of facilitating complaints to protect the 11 men, and two doctors accused of tampering with autopsies and beheading the victims to conceal their identities.

The Bombay High Court upheld the verdict in 2017 and compensated Bano 5 million rupees in 2019.

The government's decision to release the convicts has sparked outrage among women's rights activists and on social media, especially because it comes on the same day the country celebrates the 75th year of its Independence, when PM Modi vowed to uphold the dignity and safety of women. .

Many accuse the government of being a role model for Hindu extremists ahead of Gujarat state elections later this year. Others claim their release reflects Modi's anti-Muslim policies.

Kavita Krishnan, a politician and women's rights activist, speaking to The National, asked: "What is the basis for the Gujarat government's decision to release those people on 15 August 2022, to celebrate what PM Modi calls 'Amrit Kaal'? Are remissions and freedoms a reward for the rape and murder of Muslims?"

"Punishment of communal murderers and rapists is after all an aberration in India, not the rule," he added. "Does remission mean to restore the rule of impunity for communal murderers and rapists?"

The opposition Congress party also condemned the decision, tweeting: "During the Gujarat riots, pregnant Bilkis Bano was gang-raped, seven members of his family were also killed in the violence. All the perpetrators in this case were released by the Gujarat government on Independence Day."