Activists ask govt to take up cases of Guj riot victims
New Delhi, Jan 25 (UNI) Prominent people from several walks of life have welcomed the judgement in the Bilkis Bano case and urged the authorities to take up and re-investigate, if required, the cases of other ''innumerable'' Gujarat riot victims.
''We welcome this judgement wholeheartedly and hope that similar justice is given to the other victims of the riots While the Bilkis case shows justice is possible, it also shows how difficult it is to get it,'' a statement signed among others by social activist Shabnam Hashmi, CSS chairman Asghar Ali Engineer, Prof K N Pannikar and Irfan Engineer said today.
The activists lauded Bilkis Bano for displaying exemplary courage and standing firm in her quest for getting justice.
''The whole episode is a mirror to what is happening in Gujarat...civil society has got fractured along religious lines. The erosion of democratic norms and the justice delivery system is a matter of grave concern for all.'' The statement said Gujarat Chief Minister ''Narendra Modi and the BJP have pushed their divisive politics deep down in society'' and it was imperative to restore the norms of the Constitution and democracy in the country especially in Gujarat.
It asked the authorities to take up the cases of other riot victims and order re-investigation if necessary.
''Special
courts
should
be
set
up
to
try
the
culprits,
including
Narendra
Modi
whose
role
in
the
carnage
was
the
most
dangerous.''
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