Bilkis Bano case: Convicts surrender as SC deadline ends
PTC News Desk: In a significant development, all 11 convicts involved in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case surrendered late Sunday night at the Godhra Sub Jail in Gujarat's Panchmahal district. This surrender took place as the deadline issued by the Supreme Court expired on the same day.
The convicts, arriving from Singwad Randhikpur, reached Godhra Sub Jail at 11:30 pm in two private vehicles, complying with the court's order. Confirming the surrender, local Crime Branch inspector NL Desai stated, "All 11 convicts have surrendered before jail authorities late Sunday night."
The Supreme Court, on January 8, nullified the remission granted by the Gujarat government to the convicts during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, denouncing the act as "fraud" and asserting that the state government lacked the authority to issue such an order. The bench of justices BV Nagarthana and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the convicts, released prematurely on Independence Day in 2022, to return to jail within two weeks. The court highlighted the misuse of its order to violate the rule of law by granting remission.
Following the court's decision, the convicts sought additional time to surrender, presenting various reasons. However, the court dismissed these petitions on Friday, reiterating the original deadline of January 21 for surrendering before jail authorities.
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The 11 convicts involved in the case are Bakabhai Vohania, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Govind Nai, Jaswant Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradeep Mordhiya, Radheshyam Shah, Rajubhai Soni, Ramesh Chandana, and Shailesh Bhatt.
The horrifying incident involving Bilkis Bano occurred in 2002 when she was 21 years old and five months pregnant. She was subjected to gang rape while attempting to escape the communal riots following the Godhra train burning incident in February 2002. Tragically, her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members who lost their lives during the communal violence.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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