Bilkis Bano case: Women's rights group protest against release of convicts in Mumbai

Mumbai-based women's rights groups including Forum Against Oppression of Women (FAOW) staged a protest against release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.

On August 16, all the convicts were released after Gujarat government allowed the same under its remission policy. Many including Kapil Sibal and TMC MP Mahua Moitra have approached Supreme Court to revoke their release.

The group staged a protest at Dadar station on Tuesday. As many as 200 to 300 people undersigned an appeal prepared by the activists which demanded revoking of the release of convicts.

“Ordinary people are enraged for letting the criminals of such a horrendous crime free. They were released around Independence Day and felicitated upon release, whose freedom are we really celebrating?” asked Chayanika Shah, member of FAOW.

The group on Monday staged another protest wherein they travelled through western suburban railway and spoke to female commuters. They explained the issue and asked to undersign an appeal letter to mark their protest against the remission of convicts.

Shah said, “The response that we got from passengers was quite supportive. The majority of them felt that these 11 men roaming freely in society is extremely dangerous. We got 400 signatures by the end of our three-hour effort.”

Bilkis Bano was 21-year-old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped by 11 men while fleeing the violence that broke out after the Godhra train burning. Among those killed were her 3-year-old daughter.

Published on: Wednesday, August 24, 2022, 11:44 AM IST