Bilkis Bano case: Sole eyewitness says only hanging or life sentence will bring justice
New Delhi: Justice will only be served in Bilkis Bano case when convicted individuals face either hanging or life imprisonment, the sole eyewitness of the gruesome case feels.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the now 28-year-old eyewitness in the case, residing in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat state in India with his wife and 5-year-old son, was just seven when in a horrifying mob attack dozens Muslims were killed and the hapless Bilkis Bano was gang-raped by the very Hindutva RSS, BJP and Banjrag Dal terrorists she used to address as uncles and brothers.
He vividly recalls the traumatic events, stating, “I still wake up in the night and scream as those moments haunt me even after all these years,” a report in The Observer Post said.
Expressing his disappointment over the August 2022 release of 11 Hindutva convicts facing life terms, he stated, “I felt very hurt when they were set free. I am somewhat relieved now because they will be sent behind the bars once again.”
His mother and elder sister were among the 14 victims killed that day. “All the convicts must be either hanged or they must be kept behind the bars for the remainder of their lives. Only then justice will be served. These men must never be set free again,” he was quoted in the report as saying.
The Supreme Court of India, on January 8 this year, overturned the BJP government in Gujarat’s decision to prematurely release the convicts responsible for the rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of 14 persons during the 2002 Gujarat anti-Muslim riots following the Godhra train burning incident.
Describing the events leading to the attack, a social activist who provided shelter to the eyewitness said, “Bilkis Bano, along with this boy (eyewitness) and his mother and elder sister, were attacked by a mob on March 3. Of those 17, the mob killed 14, including an infant, and then gang-raped Bilkis.”
The activist, who became the eyewitness’s guardian, emphasised the crucial role the boy played in the case. “Since he was the only eyewitness, he testified before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in 2005 in Mumbai. His testimony proved crucial because it matched the sequence of events narrated by complainant Bilkis Bano. He also identified four of the 11 accused during the hearing,” the report said.
