New Delhi, Aug 27 : As as many as 134 former civil servants on the day of their release addressed an open letter to the Chief justice of India (CJI) to protest the pre-emptive release of 11 convicts released by the Gujarat government who were serving life sentences in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape trial. “We are writing to you because we are saddened over the decision of the Government of Gujarat and because we believe it is the Supreme Court which has the supreme jurisdiction, and consequently the obligation, to correct this terribly wrong decision,” wrote the former bureaucrats.
Bilkis Bano has been reported to have moved 20 times in the past due to of threats to her life.With the acclamation of the release of the convicts out of jail the suffering, trauma and danger to Bilkis Bano are likely to be increased.
It is also alarming that five of the 10 members of the advisory committee which approved the release early is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the remaining are ex-officio member they wrote.
This raises the crucial question of the impartiality and the independence of the decision.
This affects both the process and its final outcome, according to the letter.
“The account of Bilkis Bano is as you are aware an account of incredible courage and perseverance.
Five months pregnant, then 19 years old Bilkis fled with her family, along with her family members and friends from the village in Dahod district on February 18, 2002, after more than 60 Muslim homes were burned and they were forced to hide in the fields around Chhapparwad village, where the armed men were able to attack them.
“Bilkis her mother, as well as three other women were raped.
Her three-year-old daughter’s head was hit with a hammer.Then, eight people were found dead, and six others were missing.
Bilkis unclothed and in a state of unconsciousness, an elderly man, as well as a 3-year-old survived, but her daughter did not.
“It is an amazing story of determination that this battered , bruised girl in hiding from her abusers was able to seek justice in the court system,” the seven-page letter read.
jw/arm
