Release of rapist-murderers: 'Amit Shah must resign, rule of law severely compromised'

By Rosamma Thomas*
Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Amita Buch, president of the Socialist Party (India), Gujarat, has said Union Home Minister Amit Shah must resign. She said there was now evidence in the public domain that the Union Home Ministry approved the remission granted to the 11 convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano in the 2002 communal riots. The convicts were released to celebrations and garlanded as sweets were distributed. The remission was announced on India’s Independence Day.

The Socialist Party (India) is led by well known Magsaysay award winning Gandhian scholar-activist Prof Sandeep Pandey.

“Does this government seek to empower rapists and murderers, even as it speaks of empowering women?” Buch asked. The fact that permission was granted by the Union Home Ministry despite dissent from judicial and administrative authorities shows that the Union Home Minister conducts the affairs of his ministry unrestrained by proper procedure. It is not settled in law that those sentenced to life imprisonment must be released after having served 14 years of their term, Socialist Party members explained.

The convicts were out on parole for a period ranging from 998 to 1576 days, and so it was clear that they had not served even 14 years in jail. Mitesh Bhatt, one of the 11 released in this case, has an FIR registered against him for an attempt to rape in 2020, during a period when he was out on parole. Ramesh Chandana and Radheyshyam Shah, also released in this case, have offences registered against them during the sentence. Ramesh Chandana, Rajubhai Soni and Jawant Nai, three of the convicts who have been granted this special favour of remission, were late in returning to jail after parole by 122, 197 and 75 days. Despite this, it was stated that they were released given their “good behaviour”.

The government owes the people of India an explanation of what it thinks is good behavior, Socialist Party members explained. A BJP member of the Gujarat legislative assembly, who was part of the committee offering remission to these convicts, had described them as “sanskari Brahmins”.

The rule of law has been severely compromised under the watch of Amit Shah as home minister, and it is time he stepped down, the Socialist party members said. Sandeep Pandey, vice-president of the party, was detained last month when he attempted to lead a march in Ahmedabad to express solidarity with Bilkis Bano, gang-raped in 2002 while aged 19 and pregnant with her second child.

Seven members of her family were killed during the riots of 2002. Among those sentenced in the case were policemen and doctors who attempted to cover up the crime. In 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat government to pay Bilkis Bano Rs 50 lakh in compensation, the highest compensation award to any survivor of rape in the country. Shobha Gupta, Bilkis Bano’s lawyer, had argued in an interview with Huffington Post India that the amount offered in compensation was inadequate.
Amita Buch wondered why there were no protests despite how blatantly the government appears to be supporting criminals. “We had thought initially that it was the Gujarat government that was responsible for the decision. Now we know that it is the Union government. There are no voices of protest – one explanation is fear."

She added, "While that is true, we wonder whether in Gujarat it is also because there is a general agreement with these lawless actions of the Union government. Such lawlessness will not stop at only Muslims. This fire will spread and consume us all in ever-expanding circles, if we do not act now and speak up; if we do not resist with all our might. This is no small mistake; this is a conspiracy against our nationhood. Amit Shah must go.”

---

*Freelance journalist

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Search This Blog