Released from jail: convicts in gangrape, murder case of Bilkis Bano, family get relief from Gujarat govt

Eleven sinister criminals - convicted in Bilkis Bano's gangrape and her family's murder case - were released from jail on 15 August 2022 under the Gujarat government's remission policy, according to news agency PTI.

In the violence following the 2002 Godhra incident, a pregnant Bilkis Bano and 4 other women members of her family had been gangraped. 14 members of Bilkis Bano's family had also been reportedly murdered.

Eleven convicts had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court in Mumbai in January 2008. The verdict was upheld by the Bombay High Court.

After having spent over 15 years in jail, one of the convicts reportedly approached the Supreme Court for premature release. The apex court asked the Gujarat government to decide the matter, and subsequently a committee was formed.

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The panel recommended remission for the 11 convicts, and the state government accepted it. On 15 August, the 11 convicts walked out of the Godhra sub-jail.

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