Bilkis Bano case: Thane-Palghar NCP women's wing protests release of convicts

Thane: Women activists of the Thane-Palghar unit of the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday held a protest against the release of 11 convicts by the Gujarat government in the Bilkis Bano case. The protest was held at Shivaji Square here and participants indulged in sloganeering against the BJP governments at the Centre and Gujarat. The release of these convicts comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, speaks about empowering and respecting women, Thane-Palghar NCP Mahila president Ruta Awhad said. The remission and consequent release of 11 convicts from Godhra sub-jail in the neighbouring state took place on 15 August, sparking a debate on the issue of such relief in heinous cases. A special CBI court in Mumbai had, on 21 January 2008, sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family. Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court. Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the violence that broke out after the Godhra train burning in 2002. Among those killed was her three-year-old daughter.

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