குஜராத் கலவரத்தில் ஈடுபட்டு பெண்ணை கற்பழித்த 20 பேருக்கு சிறைதண்டனை

கோத்ராவில் ரயிலில் வந்த இந்துக்களை முஸ்லீம் பயங்கரவாதிகள் கொளுத்தியதால் குஜராத்தில் 2002இல் கலவரம் வெடித்தது. அதில் கும்பல் சிந்தனையில் மாட்டிக்கொண்டு மதி கெட்டு பெண்களை கற்பழித்த 13 பேர் மீது வழக்கு தொடரப்பட்டு அது முடிவுக்கு வந்துள்ளது.

அந்த 13 பேருக்கும் மரண தண்டனை கொடுப்பதற்கு பதிலாக சிறைத்தண்டனை வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

பில்கிஸ் பானோ என்ற சகோதரி தனக்கு இழைக்கப்பட்ட அநீதிக்காக போராடி வெற்றிபெற்றிருக்கிறார்.

Bilkis Bano case: 13 found guilty
Shloka Nath, Radhika Bordia
Friday, January 18, 2008 (Mumbai)
In a significant judgement on the Gujarat riots of 2002, 13 people have been found guilty of rape in the Bilkis Bano case.

Additional Sessions Judge UD Salvi delivered the verdict on Friday.

It is a major conviction in one of the few Gujarat riot cases that were transferred out of the state.

Bilkis, who was pregnant at that time, was witness also to the murder of six other people while they were fleeing their village in March 2002.

Seventeen members of her family were attacked in the riots that followed the Godhra train carnage. Eight were killed and six went missing.

She is one of the faces of the Gujarat riots. In a rare interview earlier this year, Bilkis Bano told NDTV of her fight for justice.

''In the last five years, my suffering has been endless. I have not even been able to stay in one place. I am consumed with fear,'' said Bilkis Bano, Gujarat riot victim.

The case dates back to March 3, 2002, during the Gujarat riots, when a pregnant Bilkis was allegedly gangraped, beaten up and left for dead.

She says she was witness to the massacre of 14 family members. But the Gujarat government closed her case, gave bail to all the accused and Bilkis moved the Supreme Court.

''They killed my daughter by smashing her on a stone. I was carrying her. Then they caught me and took me away. I kept telling them, ''You are from my own village, save my girl, save my family.'' They did not listen. They raped me,'' said Bilkis Bano.

The case was transferred out of Gujarat to Maharashtra on the April 6, 2004, making it the second Gujarat riot case after Best Bakery to be tried in a special Mumbai court.

The trial was held 'in camera' not open to the media or the public. This is also one of the few cases in the riots, where the prosecution managed to get 17 of the 20 accused, including six policemen behind bars.

''She has named specifically those who raped her, and those who murdered her daughter,'' said R. K. Shah, Public Prosecutor.

Six police officers are charged with shielding the guilty, while a doctor couple is accused of destroying evidence.

The others are likely to face sentencing for various crimes.

''Bilkis made contradictory statement.There is a political motive in this case,'' said Rajendra Shirodkar, Defence Lawyer.

The Bilkis Bano trial, yet another example of a fight for justice is being fought not by the state but by victims, individuals and organizations, who are keeping the battle alive.