NEW DELHI: A Mumbai court on Monday awarded life sentence to 11 persons in connection to the Bilkis Bano gangrape case in Gujarat.
| A life sentence in India means for the remainder of their natural lives |
| Oh, so it's not like the EU, huh? |
Bilkis, who was six-month pregnant, was gangraped during the communal violence that erupted in Gujarat after a coach of Sabarmati Express carrying Ramsevaks from Ayodhya was set on fire on February 27, 2002.
Bilkis was also a prime witness to the murder and rape of members of her family and community during the riots. The trial was shifted from a court in Ahmedabad to Mumbai in August 2003 by the Supreme Court after the Central Bureau of Investigation and Bilkis expressed apprehensions that witnesses in the case could be harmed if the trial was conducted in Gujarat.| A benefit of the Indian federal system. Local courts have to answer to independent federal ones that can call upon police and troops to enforce their judgments if need be |
The accused allegedly attacked 17 members of the minority community in their village, which resulted in the death of eight while six were reported missing. Bilkis was one among three who survived. Six police officers were charged with shielding the guilty while two doctors were accused of fabricating evidence. |