'I Was Paralysed With Shock And Fear': Bilkis Bano On Early Release Of Her Rapists

Bilkis Bano narrated her ordeal after the Gujarat government released the 11 men convicted in the case as per a remission policy.

Bilkis Bano on Thursday said the pre-mature release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping her and killing her entire family in the 2002 Gujarat riots left her "numb" for a long time, PTI reported. Bano, who moved the Supreme Court challenging the release of the convicts, said she would "stand and fight again".

In a statement issued on Thursday, Bano said, "The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope."

Bano said the support she received from different parts of the country helped her in rekindling her faith in humanity and renewed her courage to believe again in the idea of justice.

READ | Bilkis Bano Challenges Premature Release Of Her Rape Convicts In Supreme Court

"But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me," Bano said in the statement.

"So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere", she further said.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the riots in Gujarat that broke out after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra in 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven killed.

A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008 sentenced the 11 convicts to life imprisonment in the case for murder and gang-rape. Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.

The 11 convicts were released from the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its 1992 remission policy, sparking nationwide outrage.

In an affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Gujarat government said the Union Home Ministry had approved the premature release of the convicts through a letter dated 11.07.2022.

On Wednesday, Bano challenged the premature release of the convicts in the Supreme Court, saying it had "shaken the conscience of society".