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Bilkis Bano Rape case’s only witness, a minor at the time of the incident, has said that the accused should be hanged or kept behind bars for the remainder of their lives. On 8 January, the Supreme Court of India quashed a Gujarat government decision to prematurely release 11 convicts facing life term for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of 14 persons.
According to a PTI report, the witness, who was only seven at the time the Godhra Riots happened in 2002, also lost his mother and and elder sister to miscreants who perpetrated the communal violence.
The PTI report quotes the eyewitness, who is 28-year-old now and lives in Ahmedabad with his wife and a five-year-old son, saying, “I had endured the trauma of watching my loved ones being killed in front of my eyes. I still wake up in the night and scream as those moments haunt me even after all these years”.
The eyewitness is a cousin of Bilkis Bano.
To save themselves, a group of 17 persons, mostly women and children, left Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of Dahod district and headed towards Devgadh Baria town via a forest, said a social activist who gave shelter to that boy.
“Bilkis Bano along with this boy (eyewitness) and his mother and elder sister were also in that group, which was attacked by a mob on March 3. Of those 17, the mob killed 14, including an infant, and then gang-raped Bilkis. They also tried to kill Bilkis and this boy but they survived. A 4-year-old boy also survived the attack after the mob left thinking everyone was dead,” said an activist to PTI.
Bilkis Bano, then 21 years old and five months pregnant, was raped while fleeing. Her three-year-old daughter and six other family members were killed.
“I felt very hurt when they were set free. I am somewhat relieved now because they will be sent behind bars once again. My mother and my elder sister were among the 14 who were killed that day in front of my eyes,” the eyewitness told PTI.
“All the convicts must be either hanged for or they must be kept behind bars for the remainder of their lives. Only then justice will be served. These men must never be set free again,” he asserted.
The eyewitness’s testimony was crucial in nabbing the eleven convicts in Bilkis Bano rape case.
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Published: 12 Jan 2024, 12:09 PM IST
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