The Bilkis Bano case is among the most high profile of the post-Godhra riot cases, as much for the courage and perseverance of its chief witness as for the heinous nature of the crime

A special court in Mumbai has sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for their involvement in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter and 11 other members of her family, in one of the most heinous acts of violence to have taken place during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The sentence, which includes a fine of Rs 28,000 each, was handed out by the court on January 21.

The 12th convict in the case, a police official, was found guilty by the court for shielding the offenders and has been sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment.

On January 18, the court found 12 of the 20 accused in the Bilkis Bano Rasool case guilty of the charges of rioting, arson, murder and rape in an incident that took place in Dahod taluka, on March 3. Seven people were acquitted due to lack of evidence, while one died during the course of the trial.

While convicting the 11 accused, the court considered Bilkis' statement as well as that of a child witness who was eight at the time of the incident.

The court however let off five senior police officials and two doctors who were charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. This came as a disappointment to rights activists who say the evidence against the policemen was, in fact, stronger than the evidence against the man who was convicted.

The prosecution in the case had asked for the death penalty for all three chief accused, but the court ruled that their crimes did not constitute the 'rarest of the rare' cases, which is the main criterion for awarding the death penalty in India.

The Bilkis Bano case is among the most high profile of the post-Godhra riot cases, as much for the courage and perseverance of its chief witness as for the grievous nature of the crime.

Bilkis Bano Rasool was among a group of 17 people travelling from Chaparwad to Panivela on March 3, 2002, when they were attacked by a mob. Eight people were killed and six went missing after the incident.

The mob gangraped Bilkis, who was six months pregnant at the time. She also witnessed the murder of 14 members of her family. She and her two children were the only survivors of the attack.

In 2004, the Supreme Court of India transferred the Bilkis Bano case from Ahmedabad in Gujarat to Mumbai in neighbouring Maharashtra as the chief investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Bilkis had expressed fears that witnesses could be intimidated or harmed and that a fair trial was impossible in the existing political atmosphere in Gujarat.

While Bano has hailed the court's verdict, she says her six-year-long fight is far from over. "This judgment does not mean the end of hatred that I know still exists in the hearts and minds of many people... but it does mean that somewhere, somehow justice can prevail," she told the media after the sentencing. "This judgment is a victory not only for me but for all those innocent Muslims who were massacred and all those women whose bodies were violated only because, like me, they were Muslims," she said in a statement.

Bano has vowed to fight for the conviction of the other seven accused in the case, especially the five policemen who obstructed the path of justice in her case.

Despite the conviction, Bilkis Bano is reluctant to return to her village and is scared to even disclose where she has been staying during these five years. "I am still scared and fear for my life," she says.

Source: www.ndtv.com, January 21, 2008
             www.ibnlive.com, January 21, 2008
             The Hindu, January 21, 2008
             IANS, January 21, 2008
             Reuters, January 21, 2008