By Maya Palit
Yesterday the Bilkis Bano case, one of the most heinous instances of murder and gang-rape during the 2002 Gujarat riots, was given an impressive verdict in the Bombay High Court. It upheld the life sentence for 11 people convicted in the case, and reversed the acquittal of five policemen and two doctors who had carried out a ‘dishonest investigation’, tampered with evidence, and attempted to silence Bano and were therefore part of the conspiracy to gang rape Bilkis.
In March 2002, Bano’s family was on a truck, attempting to escape a violent mob. They were intercepted by an armed mob, whose members gang-raped her, murdered her 2-year-old daughter in front of her, and killed 13 other members of her family including her mother. Bano was 19 and pregnant at the time.
She approached the local police and tried to file an FIR but was told she would be poisoned with injections by a local hospital. She then petitioned the Supreme Court, but because of the constant threats to her family, her case was shifted to Maharashtra, where she made history when she won the first conviction for a riot rape in independent India. In 2008, 11 of the accused were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and gang-rape, although they appealed to the High Court afterwards.
Let’s not forget that this victory, with the High Court upholding the sentences and reversing the acquittals, comes at the end of 15 years of resilience and fighting on Bilkis’ part against the local police. Which is why we would do well to listen to what she has to say in her statement about her case, the complicity of state officials in the crimes against her and her family, and the state of the country at the moment:
I am happy that the State and its officials who emboldened, encouraged, and protected the criminals who destroyed the life of an entire community, are no longer unblemished, but today stand charged with tampering of evidence. For officers of the state, whose sworn duty it is to protect citizens and enable justice, this should be their great moral shame, to bear forever. To fellow Indians, I appeal to all of you, at a time when we hear news everyday of people being attacked and killed because of their religion or community – please help affirm their faith in the secular values of our country and support their struggles for justice, equality, and dignity. For this verdict does not mean the end of hatred but it does mean that somewhere, somehow justice can prevail. This has been an long, seemingly never ending struggle for me, but when you are on the side of truth, you will be heard, and justice will be yours in the end.