Bilkis Bano case: Life sentence for 11
{image-bilkis
bano_21012008.jpg
news.oneindia.in}
Mumbai,
Jan
21:
After
a
long
hiatus
justice
has
finally
been
proclaimed
to
Bilkis
Bano
case.
Bilkis
Bano
was
raped
and
her
three-and-half-year-old
daughter
along
with
her
eight
members
of
family
were
murdered
by
a
mob
in
Randhirkapur
village
on
March
3,
2002,
during
Godhra
riots
of
Gujarat.
The
special
CBI
court
today
sentenced
eleven
persons
held
guilty
in
the
post-Godhra
Bilkis
Bano
gangrape
and
massacre
case
to
life
imprisonment.
Special
court
judge
U
D
Salvi,
while
announcing
the
quantum
of
punishment,
sentenced
a
twelfth
convict
--
a
suspended
policeman
--
to
three
years
rigorous
imprisonment.
The
court
had
on
January
18
passed
its
judgement
but
had
deferred
pronouncing
the
quantum
of
punishment
till
today.
As
many
as
fourteen
members
of
Bilkis
Bano's
family
were
killed
by
rioteers
in
Dahod
district
of
Gujarat
in
the
aftermath
of
the
Godhra
carnage
in
2002.
The
women
in
the
family
were
gangraped.
Bilkis
Bano,
who
was
six-month
pregnant
at
that
time,
was
also
gangraped,
but
her
life
was
spared.
The
Bilkis
Bano
gangrape
and
massacre
case
was
the
second
post-Godhra
riot
case
after
Vadodara's
Best
Bakery
to
be
transferred
to
Maharashtra
from
Gujarat.
This
case
was
transferred
on
the
directives
of
the
Supreme
Court
after
Bilkis
Bano
expressed
doubts
about
a
free
trial
in
Gujarat.
UNI