While there were new developments regarding the gang rape and murder incidents in the Indian state of Gujarat, the news caused great reactions that confused the country. While the gang rape victim Bilkis Bano reacted to the release of the convicts, the joy and sweetness of the released rapists in the videos circulating on social media caused outrage in the country. Here are all the details about the blood-curdling event…
HE WANTED THE DECISION TO BE CANCELED
In a statement, a Muslim woman named Bilkis Bano called on the Gujarat administration to release 11 convicts who raped her and murdered many of her family during the violence between Muslims and Hindus in Gujarat 20 years ago.
Bano demanded that the decision to release people sentenced to life in prison after 14 years be reversed.
Stating that he was stunned by the decision to be released, Bano stated that his belief in justice was shaken and said, “How can justice end like this for a woman? I believed in the highest courts of our country.” said.
Noting that no official had reached him before the decision was taken, Bano demanded that this loss be reversed and the right to live without fear and in peace be restored.
TENS OF WOMEN PROTEST THE DECISION
Meanwhile, in the capital, New Delhi, dozens of women protested the release of 11 people.
Demanding the reversal of the decision, the protesters called for the victims of the incident to be allowed to live in peace and dignity.
VIDEOS PUBLISHED ON SOCIAL MEDIA REACT: RAAPERS WELCOME WITH JOY
On the other hand, in the videos spread on social media accounts, it was seen that the 11 people in question were greeted with joy and sweets. During the welcome, people’s necks were adorned with bouquets of flowers used to honor people.
The images were criticized by opposition politicians, human rights defenders and women.
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition National Congress Party in India, shared on his social media account about the release of the convicts.
Gandhi questioned what message the government, which said it wanted to empower women, gave to women in India with this decision, and drew attention to the difference between the words of the government and the actions of the country.
Eleven people sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape and murder known as the “Bilkis Bano case” in the 2002 events in Gujarat were released from prison in Gujarat’s Godhra town on August 16, after the state government approved their application for a reduced sentence.
An Indian official said that the application for release by the convicts was being considered because of “the completion of 14 years” in prison. Life sentences in India are usually limited to 14 years in prison.
GUJARAT EVENTS
In the state of Gujarat, India, on February 27, 2002, the train fire near Godhra station, the events in the state started after 60 Hindu pilgrims were killed.
Hindu gangs, holding Muslims responsible for the fire, attacked Muslim neighborhoods and villages in Gujarat, killing nearly a thousand people and raping hundreds of women.
The current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, was serving as the prime minister of the state of Gujarat at the time of the uprising. Modi was accused of not doing enough to stop the killings of Muslims.
BILKIS BANO CASE
In the wave of anti-Muslim violence, a Muslim woman named Bilkis Bano, who lived in the province’s Limkheda region, was gang raped and 14 of her family were killed, including her 3-year-old daughter Saleha. Bano, who was 21 years old and 5 months pregnant at the time, survived the massacre by pretending to be dead, but later lost consciousness.
In the court decision, it was stated that Saleha was killed by hitting her head on the ground.
Bano said that the 11 people convicted in court were from his neighborhood.
In 2008, the court sentenced 11 of the 13 defendants it found guilty to life imprisonment on charges of gang rape and murder.
After 17 years of legal battle, the Supreme Court ordered Bano to be awarded $63 thousand in damages in 2019. (AA)