The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Gujarat government if any departmental action was initiated or taken against the police officers convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case.
The bench led by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra directed Gujarat to apprise it on this issue within four weeks.
The bench also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud allowed the gang-rape survivor to file a fresh appeal seeking enhanced compensation.
Earlier this year in May, the Bombay High Court had turned down CBI's plea seeking a death sentence for three of the 11 convicts who were sentenced to life by a trial court. It had also set aside the acquittal of the five policemen and the two medicos. The HC had sentenced RS Bhagora, four other policemen and the two doctors to life term in jail.
IPS officer RS Bhagora was charged with suppressing and tampering evidence. In all, 18 people were convicted for gangraping Bano and murdering her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
On March 3, 2002, days after the Sabarmati Express in Godhra was set on fire, Bano, who was then 19-years old and five-months pregnant, was escaping the mob in a truck with her family. As they were passing Randhikpur village in Dahod district, armed men attacked the truck and killed 14 members of her family. Bano was gangraped and left to die. However, she and two other relatives survived the horror.
On January 21, 2008, six years after the incident took place, a trial court had held the accused guilty of murder, gangrape and raping a pregnant woman. The court had then sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment.
Those sentenced to life imprisonment included Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Bhagwan Das Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.
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 "Bilkis Bano with her husband and child")
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