11 convicts serving life sentence in Bilkis Bano rape case released, came out under amnesty policy

All 11 convicted prisoners convicted in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case during the Godhra incident in Gujarat have been released on Independence Day. These people came out of the Godhra sub-jail on Monday. The Gujarat government has decided to release as part of its amnesty policy.  was permitted.

Let us tell you that 2002 Godhra incident took place in Gujarat.  On 3 March 2002, Bilkis Bano was gang-raped in Randhikpur village of Dahod district and seven members of his family were murdered.  When the crime was committed, Bilkis Bano was five months pregnant.  In the incident, FIR was lodged against Radheshyam Shahi, Jaswant Chaturbhai Nai, Keshubhai Vadania, Bakabhai Vadania, Rajivbhai Soni, Rameshbhai Chauhan, Shaileshbhai Bhatt, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Bhatt and Pradeep Modhiya.  The accused were arrested in 2004.

Trial started in Ahmedabad.  However, Bilkis Bano feared that witnesses could be harmed and the evidence collected by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could be tampered with.  In such a situation, the Supreme Court transferred this case to Mumbai in August 2004.

On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai found 11 accused guilty in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Later the Bombay High Court upheld his sentence.

These convicts had served more than 18 years, after which Radheshyam Shahi had approached the Gujarat High Court to waive the sentence under sections 432 and 433. The HC dismissed the petition saying that Maharashtra is the ‘appropriate government’ to decide on his apology. not Gujarat.

Radheshyam Shahi then filed a petition in the Supreme Court and said that he remained in jail for 15 years and 4 months without any exemption till April 1, 2022. On May 13, the SC said that since the crime was committed in Gujarat, the state of Gujarat is the appropriate government to examine the application of Radheshyam Shahi.

The Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to consider the application for premature release in accordance with the amnesty policy of 9 July 1992 and said that a decision could be taken within two months.

Panchmahal Collector Sujal Mayatra told that the apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of pardon in his sentence, after which the government constituted a committee. This panel is headed by the Collector.

The collector informed that the committee unanimously decided in favor of releasing all the 11 convicts in the incident. Recommendation was sent to the state government and yesterday we got orders for their release.