Indus Valley Times

Gujarat,Mar 27 :  One of the 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case, who was released prematurely last year, was seen sharing a stage with a BJP MP and an MLA at a government programme in Gujarat on Sunday.

The convicted rapist was seen attending the launch of a water supply scheme with Dahod BJP MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor and his brother Sailesh Bhabhor, who is an MLA from Limkheda constituency.

Videos and photos from the event showed Bilkis Bano case convict Shailesh Chimanlal Bhatt on stage with MP Jasvant Sinh Bhabhor and MLA Sailesh Bhabhor. He was seen posing with them for photos at the event and also participating in the puja.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra took to Twitter to share a picture of Bilkis Bano’s rapist sharing a stage with the BJP leaders and said that she wants to see “these monsters back in jail”. She added, “I want this satanic government that applauds this travesty of justice voted out. I want India to reclaim her moral compass.”

All the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 post-Godhra Bilkis Bano gang rape case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail in August last year.

They were released under the Gujarat government’s remission policy. A series of petitions have been filed against the release of the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case. The release of the men has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the case will be heard on Monday.

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The 11 accused — Radheshyam shah, Jaswant Chaturbhai Nai, Keshubhai Vadaniya, Bakabhai Vadaniya, Rajibhai Soni, Rameshbhai Chauhan, Shaileshbhai Bhatt, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradip Modhiya were sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family.

A special CBI court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008 had sentenced the 11 accused to life imprisonment, and the conviction was later upheld by the Bombay high court.

-The India Today