Bilkis Bano received justice after six years of the gruesome violence happened with her and other family members during 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. On Monday, a special CBI court slapped life-term to 11 people in the connection with gang rape of Bilkis and killing of 13 of her relatives and her baby daughter in the riots. The court also slapped three years’ rigorous imprisonment to the twelfth convict, Somabhai Gori, a policeman who had shielded the accused in the case. Earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered for the in-camera trial and to shift the trial out of Gujarat on the reports of threats and intimidation of witnesses in the case. According to the report, the CBI had exhumed bodies whose heads were chopped after post-mortem to dodge the identification of the bodies. Special CBI judge U D Salvi rejected the demand of death penalty for the three accused held guilty of raping Bilkis by saying that the case did not fall under the ‘rarest of rare cases’.

He said while delivering the judgment: In a case of communal riots, every individual has a separate agenda... Many join for looting property, some join to satisfy their lust and some join for the killing.

Bilkis Bano asked the Gujarat government just after the judgment to provide security to her family member living in Gujarat. She said: My family and I are still living in fear. It is the duty of the Gujarat government to assure us of safety. She also told media persons in New Delhi that Justice has been done but seven others acquitted including doctors and policemen should have also been punished in the case who connived with the rioters.

She further said: This judgment does not mean the end of hatred but it does mean that somewhere, somehow justice can prevail. I am ready to work closely with CBI in other cases too.

Earlier on January 18, the court had convicted 12 accused including a policeman in the Bilkis case however, acquitted seven persons because of no evidence. One accused died during the trial in the case.The court found that Jaswantbai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Naresh Kumar Mordhiya (dead) had raped Bilkis and Shailesh Bhatt killed her daughter by throwing her on the ground. Other convicted including Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Nitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana received life-term and Somabhai Gori, head constable of Limkheda police station, was slapped with three years RI in the case.On February 28, 2002, Bilkis, then a five-month pregnant mother and a resident of Radhikpur in Dahod district, escaped from her village with her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter and 15 other family members. On March 3, 2002, when they reached to Chapparwad village, more than 20 30 people attacked Bilkis and her family and raped Bilkis and four women in the family. Eight of her family members were found dead, six were missing and Bilkis, Saddam and three-year-old Hussain found alive after the gruesome violence.