Ahmedabad: All the 11 convicts in the Godhra fire-breaking Bilkis Bano gangrape case have been released on Independence Day. On Monday, they came out of the Godhra sub-jail. The Gujarat government had allowed the release as part of its amnesty policy. The 2002 Godhra fire incident took place in Gujarat. On March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed in Randhikpur village under Dahod district.
Bilkis Bano was five months pregnant when the incident took place. An FIR was registered against Radheshyam Shahi, Jaswant Chaturbhai Nai, Keshubhai Vadaniya, Bakabhai Vadaniya, Rajivbhai Soni, Rameshbhai Chauhan, Shaileshbhai Bhatt, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Bhatt and Pradeep Modhiya. The accused were arrested in 2004. The trial began in Ahmedabad. However, Bilkis Bano had expressed apprehension that witnesses could be harmed and evidence collected by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could be tampered with. In such a situation, the apex court transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.
On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai convicted 11 accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Later, the Bombay High Court also upheld his conviction. The convicts had served over 18 years, following which Radheshyam Shahi had moved the Gujarat High Court seeking remission of sentence under Sections 432 and 433. On which the High Court dismissed the petition saying that the 'appropriate government' to decide on his apology is Maharashtra. Not Gujarat. But on 13 May 2022, the Supreme Court said that since the crime took place in Gujarat, the state of Gujarat is the appropriate government to examine Radheshyam Shahi's application.
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