Thousands of people gathered at Bengaluru’s Freedom park to protest against the remission of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case and strongly condemned their felicitation. Writers, students, slum residents, members of women’s organisations, artists, transgender activists, lawyers and other individuals, demanded that the convicts be sent back to jail to complete their life terms and that security be provided to Bilkis Bano and her family members.
Concerned citizens from various walks of life had called out for a nationwide wide demanding justice for Bilkis. They came together in pain and rage to condemn, in the strongest possible words, the BJP-led Gujarat government’s decision to release the 11 convicts.
These 11 convicts were serving a life sentence for the brutal and barbaric gangrape of Bilkis Bano and several other women of her family and then murdering her family members, including her 3-year-old daughter during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
While demonstrations were held in 56 locations across the country, in Karnataka alone protests were held in 15 different locations, including Bengaluru, Bagalkot, Ballari, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur, Davangere, Dharwad, Gadag, Hasan, Kalaburgi, Koppal, Mysore, Vijiyapura and Yadgir.
Several activists spoke at the gathering today.
Former Amnesty International Chief Aakar Patel, who also took part in the protests told The Cognate, “I don’t have any problem if the government releases those who are in the jails. But this (policy) should be for everyone. It shouldn’t be like some people who are not even convicted like Umar Khalid and Father Stan who died in jail, there is a different law for them and a different law for Muslims and the people who did this (rape), there is a third law. This is not right. The BJP should have given a statement telling why these people were released. Then the country would have understood that the party which says to save daughters have released such people who murdered the daughters in India “
When asked why there is a difference between the rape convicts in the Nirbhaya case and different for Bilkis Bano case, he said, “In India, the party which has seized the government is a party which has an ideology, which they call it Hindutva. It means that except for Hindus, they will attack everyone and they are calling for attacks. Since 2014, how many laws have come that target the minorities, particularly the Muslims and in that series, this thing (releasing rapists) is just another thing.
“I’m so happy to see here today that so many people have gathered for Bilkis Bano,” the former Amnesty International Chief said adding, “she should know that in this fight she is not alone. We all are there with her.”
Maitreyi K of Bahutva Karnataka expressing shock over the remission of the 11 convicts said, “We demand that the remission that has been granted to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, be immediately rescinded and they be sent back to jail. On 15 August this year, when given these convicts were released, the entire country was put in a state of shock. How these 11 persons were released having done such a heinous crime? Having to get justice, to get them even convicted, Bilkis had to go supreme Court to ensure that justice was served. And after they were released, these people were garlanded, felicitated by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an organization that was the forefront of the program that took place in Gujarat in 2002.”
“They were Brahmins, and Brahmins are known to have good sanskaar. It might have been someone’s ill intention to corner and punish them,” the BJP MLA CK Raulji is heard talking in an interview with the Mojo story. He added that the prisoners behaved well while incarcerated.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Raulji is seen welcoming the 11 convicts with sweets and garlands after their release.
Irshad a social activist from Mangalore, also participating In the protest blamed the Modi government for the injustices happening to minorities across the country. He said, “In India since the Modi government has come to rule, there has been numerous numbers of injustice happening with particularly minority community. Whoever is the voice of dissent, the Modi government is curbing its voices. So today in freedom park at Bangalore, under the banner of #KarnatakaWithBilkis, people have joined here and raising their anger against the Gujarat government and the union government, which has allowed to released culprits of rape and murder.”
Expressing complete support for the sake of justice to Bilkis Bano, Students Islamic Organization took part in the freedom park. Shehzaad Shakeeb, SIO Zonal President told The Cognate, “The kind of action that the government has taken is absolutely unjustifiable. We call the government of Gujarat and the government of India to immediately correct the decision that they have taken. We would like to question that is this how justice is given. We all demand that justice be given to her and that her rape convicts should again be sent back to jail. The government should send the right message that they stand for justice and for the citizens of India.”
“I hope that this strongly goes out as a message to Bilkis Bano that the nation is watching and the nation will stand with her,” said Junaid, a student activist from All India Students Organization, while referring to the nationwide protests.
Highlighting that rape convicts cannot be eligible for remission, Advocate BK Venkatesh, a senior lawyer and a former prosecutor said, “These gang rapists should be sent back to jail. This is against the very law of the land is concerned. Every state government has a set of rules, the central government has a set of rules regarding remission of sentences. As a former state public prosecutor, who had sought remission of sentence many people got very clear directions regarding this. One is that there are certain offences which we consider moral turpitude, the cases as gang rape, terrorism, and human trafficking, all those cases if a life sentence has been granted to a person. Then he is not eligible for remission of these sentences. This is the set rule in all the state government and guidelines on the central government.”
These are convicts or not accused or on trial, they are convicts, said Lubna from the National Women’s Front (NWF). “Recently, a BJP MLA statement came saying they are brahims and people of good conduct. So I want to say if you are people conduct then will you get a ticket to rape women? It’s such a shameful statement that BJP MLA has said. We can see how bad and horrible their mindset and thinking are. It is horrible to witness something like this. What happened with Bilkis Bano, it is gut-wrenching for every woman out here to witness,” she added.
Activist Vinay told The Cognate that a lot of people are protesting today because there is a lot of anger and rage not just against the government but also the society. “The society which welcomes rapists with gardens and sweets. All of us need to stand for every single woman of this country.”
Terming the cruelty which happened with Bilkis Bano as ‘grave’, Vimala KS of All India Democratic women’s association said, “the Gujarat government call these people as well behaved people. Unfortunately, their good behaviour is gang rape And murderers, all these things. We condemn this act of the Gujarat government. We also condemned the silence of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister. Already 12 days over our prime minister Prime Minister’s over he said we have to take the pledge to safeguard the dignity of women in India, so we want to ask him honouring rapists, releasing convicts is honouring women, we just can’t endorse this.”
She said they have filed a petition in the Supreme Court “to send those convicts back to jail and till their last breathe they have to deal with rigorous imprisonment.”
Tanveer Ahmed, a member of Mercy Angels NGO said that he has sympathy for the people, their mindset who celebrated coming out of rapists. “I don’t think so, they have a place in any civilized kind of society. They belong to a party that the prime minister also belongs to. I want the Prime Minister of my country to clarify whether he stands with the people of this ideology. If we can say that at an international if you stand with such people. We do not want the prime minister for saying sabka saath sabka vikas saying on one end. Then the same party people are doing something totally opposite on the other side.”
He also demanded the Brahmin Mahasabha to testify whether they stand with the rapists. “I want the brahmin Mahasabha to also testify whether they stand with such rapists or what. I’m waiting to hear the answers from them. If they stand with them, let them say it openly. There should not be hypocrisy,” he said.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
