The BJP’s “Done as per law” excuse for approving remission to the rapists-murderers in the Bilkis Bano case isn’t going to fix its moral compass, which has tilted in the wrong direction.
The Gujarat Government quoted the remission policy of July 9, 1992, and concurrence from the center (intriguingly okayed within fifteen days) to say that everything is done as per law. And this, despite CBI’s ‘No’ to the release of Bilkis Bano case convicts.
The CBI special court judge had stated that it’s the “worse form of hate crime…committed only on the ground that the victims belong to a particular religion. In this case, even minor children were not spared.” Then why were the BJP government in the state and the center keen and swift in securing a release for them?
Even if the move is legally right; ethically, it is questionable. The Gujarat government’s affidavit in the Supreme Court clearly shows that these criminals have obtained the center-state blessings for their release. Such a decision is impossible without the PMO and Home ministry consenting. So, what’s the gain for BJP, over and above the moral backlash for releasing Bilkis Bano case convicts?
These men have enjoyed nearly three years of parole during their 14 years jail term. Moreover, while on parole, one of the Bilkis Bano case convicts, Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, was booked for “Outraging a woman’s modesty” (Sec 354IPC) in June 2020. The case trial is pending.
So the state government’s reason to secure remission for them on the grounds of “good behavior” has elements that are being wilfully neglected. It cannot be an oversight.
The gruesome crime they committed deserves capital punishment not release from jail. (The crime happened during the 2002 Gujarat riots after the Godhra carnage. In the worst form of communal attack, five-month-pregnant Bilkis Bano was gang-raped. Her three-year-old daughter was smashed to death and 14 of her family members were brutally murdered.)
Indeed the remission for these criminals looks more like a message to Hindu hardliners that the BJP stands by them. The religious color of the debate would polarize people further, especially in poll-bound Gujarat. So, is the remission of the Bilkis Bano case convicts a deliberate political move by the BJP to seal electoral victory in the state?
Image: NDTV