TRS leader K Kavitha slams release of Bilkis Bano's rapists, seeks SC intervention

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 18 (ANI): Telangana TRS leader K Kavitha on Thursday sought Supreme Court's intervention and slammed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case related to Bilkis Bano gang-rape and murder of her kin during 2002 Gujarat riots.
She tweeted, "The decision to release the heinous criminals of rape and murder during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an insult to this auspicious day. The central government itself has sent the guidelines to the state governments in June 2022 that rapists and convicts facing life imprisonment are not eligible for pardon #BilkisBano."
Terming the decision a "shameful verdict", the Telangana MLC said, "The BJP government of Gujarat has encouraged the barbaric idea by pardoning the rapists of Bilkis Bano who was five months pregnant and the killers of her three-year-old girl. It is against the spirit of law and justice and completely against humanity."
"As a woman, I can feel the pain and fear of Bilkis Bano. The way, those rapists and murderers were respected by society when they came out of jail is a slap in the face of civilized society. It is important to stop this dangerous tradition from the very beginning," she added.
Demanding Supreme Court's intervention in the case, she said, "There should be no more Nirbhaya case and no one should go through this extreme of pain and to keep everyone's trust in the law, it is necessary that this shameful decision should be withdrawn. I also demand the Supreme Court to intervene on this issue by taking suo moto cognizance into the case."
Meanwhile, Telangana IT and Industries Minister, KT Rama Rao on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene to repeal the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to the rapists and murderers.
Speaking with ANI, the minister said, "I request to PM to interfere and reverse this decision by the Gujarat government. The decision of the state, in this case, is giving the wrong message to the nation. I request to the Prime Minister to reconsider the law and order regarding these types of cases," said the Minister.
Rao said he agree with what our PM said from the Lal Quilla about women's safety, but later on Independence Day evening, we witnessed a contrast in his sayings and actions when the decision to grant remission to 11 convicts came out.
"Recently a rape took place in Hyderabad, the perpetrators of the rape were minor and if an individual is capable of committing a crime as high as rape he should be tried as an adult. Today unfortunately Indian Penal Code when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual molestation is not very strong," he said.
All the 11 life-term convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.
In March 2002 during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara. (ANI)