Visakhapatnam: Activists belonging to various organisations, including women's and Muslim organisations expressed outrage over the pre-mature release of the 11 accused in the Bilkis Banio case. The protest was organised at the Gandhi statue near GVMC by the Mahila Chetna, Human Rights Forum, and Muslim Thinkers Forum on Thursday in Visakhapatnam.
The protesters stood with Bilkis Bano in her fight for justice and called upon the Supreme Court to undo a ‘grave miscarriage of justice’ and to revoke the remission granted to the 11 convicts on August 15.
Speaking on the occasion, HRF functionary V.S. Krishna said the release of the 11 convicts would have a chilling effect on all those struggling for justice in cases of sexual violence on women. “It is a matter of shame that gang-rapists and mass murderers are being set free in this manner. The remission is deeply immoral and mocks the law and Constitution. It restores the rule of impunity for gang-rapists and communal killers," he stated.
K. Padma of Mahila Chetna and Jaha Aara of Muslim Thinkers Forum dwelt on Bilkis Bano’s resilient, brave, and prolonged fight for justice. They said that the release of the convicts violated existing guidelines on remission policy, which stated categorically that those prisoners convicted of rape and other heinous crimes should not be granted special remission. "This release is in contravention of the law of the land and has let down women," they said.
Slogans were raised demanding that the apex court take suo moto notice of the case and ensure that the 11 convicts should be sent back to prison.
