Govind Nai, one of the 11 convicts released prematurely by the state and central governments of the BJP.
Randhikpur, Dahod (Gujarat):
Right in front of Bilkis Bano’s house there is a firecrackers shop doing the business of firecrackers on Diwali. It belongs to Radheshyam Shah, who raped her and killed her family members, but is now coming back to her life.
She no longer lives here.
She lives in the shadow of fear, away from the village, avoiding further danger. All the convicts have homes in and around Randhikpur village in Gujarat’s Dahod district, where hardly 4,000 residents live.
“We are innocent. Have you seen an uncle and nephew raping someone in front of each other? Does this happen in a Hindu community? No, Hindus don’t do this,” said Govind Nai, one of the 11 life convicts argued. In the case of 2002 Gujarat riots who have been released prematurely by the BJP state and central governments.
NDTV has found that Govind Nai and some of these men had allegedly threatened the witnesses when they were out on parole. Yet he was released for “good behavior”. He spent nearly three years on such parole before being fully released this Independence Day, the day Prime Minister Modi spoke of “respecting women” in his Red Fort address.
Govind Nai had allegedly threatened two men who testified against him in the Bilkis Bano case in July 2017. He didn’t want to talk about that, or ask any questions.
When NDTV went to his house earlier this week, he said, “Just go missing from my village.” His father was also present at the family home, but he refused to speak.
Since that night in 2002, Bilkis Bano never came to stay in the village. His house is now a shop, which he has rented out to a Hindu woman who sells clothes to her family.
The old house of Bilkis Bano and his family in the village.
Right in front of Bilkis Bano’s house is a multi-storeyed house where Radheshyam Shah is convicted.
His younger brother Ashish Shah is selling crackers at a stall in front of him. He claimed, “Radheshyam no longer lives here.”
Apart from Radheshyam Shah and Ashish, an FIR has been registered against one other convict for assaulting a woman while she was out on parole. Ashish Shah said the FIR is “baseless”. He did not speak further.
In that case the complainants, Sabraben Ayub and Pintu Bhai, Muslim residents of a Hindu-dominated village, stand by their allegations, but say they are now living in fear.
Another convict Rajubhai Soni was at his jewelery shop, but he left on seeing the cameras.
NDTV tried to reach out to the officials who were part of the process to approve the early release of these people, but did not revert. The district magistrate was unresponsive, while the superintendent of police, who had also approved the release, disconnected the call after seeking a response from NDTV.
After being released on August 15, the convicts were welcomed with garlands at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad office.
Bilkis Bano, 21 years old and five months pregnant at the time, was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter was also among 14 people who were killed by a mob in Dahod on March 3, 2002 . The train was attacked in Godhra and 59 passengers, mainly ‘kar sevaks’, were burnt. At that time PM Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister.
Since then the BJP has not lost power in the state. The next assembly elections are to be held by the end of this year.
After the release of the men, Bilquis Bano issued a statement, which said, “The trauma of the past 20 years washed me again… I am still numb”.
“My sorrow and my shaky faith is not for me alone, but for every woman who is fighting for justice in the courts. No one asked about my safety and well-being before taking such a huge and unjust decision. I appeal to the Gujarat government, please undo this loss,” he said.
Petitions against the release have been filed in the Supreme Court by some organizations and individuals including Bengal’s Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.