Bilkis Bano case: Release of 11 convicts figures in NHRC discussion

NEW DELHI: A discussion was held at the National Human Rights Commission here on Monday and the release of the 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case figured in it, sources said.

NHRC chairperson Justice (retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra headed the discussion, they said.

However, there was no official version from the NHRC on the discussion.

The 11 convicts walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gangrape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano's family. Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.

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