Gujarat Riots 2002: Supreme Court Against Early Release Of 11 Convicts

An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court against the early release of 11 convicts in the 2002 Gujarat gang-rape and murder of 14 members of her family.

In 2002, the Godhra train burning incident took place in Gujarat state. Following that, the Gujarat religious violence in which tens of thousands of Muslims were killed shocked the world. One of these horrific incidents was the rape of the five months pregnant Bilgi's Banu. In 2008, the verdict was given in the case of Bilkis Banu's gang rape and murder of the family. A special court in Mumbai sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for this heinous crime.

After serving 14 years of life imprisonment, the convicts filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking their early release from prison. The Supreme Court advised the Gujarat government to consider this. Subsequently, a committee was formed regarding the release of 11 people. Eleven life convicts were also granted early release on the recommendation of this committee.

The release of 11 convicts from Godhra Jail on August 15 caused a great shock. The support given to these criminals was highly controversial. Various international human rights organizations have strongly condemned the release of these 11 people.