By Express News Service
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the accused in the Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat should not have been garlanded.
While replying to the Opposition about the law and order situation, Fadnavis said they will try to sensitise police personnel about women victims.
“The accused should be treated as accused only,” he said.
“I will not defend this action of garlanding people who are accused in Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat. The court has relieved them. They even spent 14 years in jail for their crime. But no one can defend the accused,” Fadnavis added.
He further said that the Shakti law will soon be implemented in Maharashtra to ensure speedy trial and punishment to the accused in sexual harassment and rape cases.
He said the Shakti bill has been to the President of India for her consent.
“The accused have been freed after completing nearly 20 years. 14 years in jail. The release has been done after a Supreme Court order. But it is wrong if any accused is felicitated and welcomed. An accused is an accused and there can be no justification for this (act),” said Fadnavis, who is also the home minister.
On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the case of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the 2002 communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their premature release under its remission policy.
They were welcomed with garlands following their release from jail.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose MLAs were on the Gujarat government-appointed remission committee, faced flak over the release of the convicts and the welcome accorded to them.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, sentenced the eleven accused to life imprisonment on the charge of gang rape and murder of seven members of the family of Bilkis Bano, a riot survivor.
Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
These convicts had served more than 15 years in jail after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.
The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence as per its 1992 policy on the basis of the date of his conviction.
Thereafter, the government formed a committee and issued an order allowing the premature release of all the convicts from jail.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis dubbed the rape of a 35-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district “very shameful” and said police and health officials will be sensitised again to handle cases related to crime against women.
Replying to debate in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the incident.
“The SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) exist but they are not followed. They have to be followed at the police station and the hospital. I want to assure the House that police and health officials will be sensitised again,” he said.
The incident occurred on June 30 when the woman was going to her brother’s home in Kamargaon in Goregaon tehsil in the Bhandara district.
She was raped by a driver who befriended her and left her on the spot.
The victim was later taken to the Lakhni police station but she was allowed to leave the next morning.
On the next day, she was allegedly raped by two other men, Amit Salve and Ijaz Ansari, at Kanhalmoh.
On August 2, some passers-by found her lying unconscious and alerted Kardha police who shifted her to a hospital.
Fadnavis said the woman is suffering from psychosis and undergoing treatment.
“She is unable to narrate many things. The first accused is yet to be arrested,” he said.
The woman revealed that Shriram Murkute, a tempo driver, allegedly raped her.
Fadnavis said the police tried to trace the accused by checking the people with that name and also the vehicle.
They found an 18-year-old man from Yavatmal with the same name, but his description did not match, while another person with the same name was lodged in the Balaghat jail.
It appears the tempo driver is a local and the woman said since he behaved nicely with her, she didn’t want to register any case, Fadnavis said, adding that the woman was being counselled.
“We told her that your complaint has been registered, so we need to take action against him. The probe is on. Till the first accused (Murkute), is arrested, it will be wrong to say that the probe has been completed,” Fadnavis said.
The woman is being treated and assistance is provided to her.
“This is a very shameful incident. If we look at the entire incident, there is a scope for improvement in our system,” the deputy chief minister said.
He told the Legislative Council that the victim did not tell the police at the Lakhni police station that she was raped.
“Though she left in good faith, the police should have started searching for her when she did not return in 30 minutes. In the evening, the woman reached Kardha on foot. Until then the police did not know where she was. This is a serious issue,” he said, adding that action has been taken against three police personnel.
An enquiry against the superintendent of police was underway and the officer was transferred.
He on Tuesday also said the state government will make all efforts to get the presidential assent speedily for the Shakti Bill that provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women.
Replying to a debate in the Legislative Council, he said the state government had sent the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, to the President for assent earlier this year.
The bill, inspired by the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh and other similar laws, was passed by the state legislature in December 2021.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs asked for some information pertaining to the bill and the state Director General of Police will soon submit a report, Fadnavis said.
While enacting special laws, some central laws are changed, hence such legislations are sent to eight central departments and scrutinized by the Law and Justice department to check whether they conform with Supreme Court and High Courts judgements, he said.
“I will go to Delhi and follow it up. An officer will be designated to ensure compliance of (the requirements of) all eight departments and the work related to presidential assent,” said Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister.
Other states which passed similar laws too took time to get the presidential assent, the deputy CM said.
The bill prescribes the death penalty for certain offences against women and children such as rape.
It also provides for enhanced punishment for offences such as throwing acid.
The bill also contemplates time-bound investigation, trial and disposal of appeals in certain cases.
(With PTI Inputs)
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the accused in the Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat should not have been garlanded.
While replying to the Opposition about the law and order situation, Fadnavis said they will try to sensitise police personnel about women victims.
“The accused should be treated as accused only,” he said.
“I will not defend this action of garlanding people who are accused in Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat. The court has relieved them. They even spent 14 years in jail for their crime. But no one can defend the accused,” Fadnavis added.
He further said that the Shakti law will soon be implemented in Maharashtra to ensure speedy trial and punishment to the accused in sexual harassment and rape cases.
He said the Shakti bill has been to the President of India for her consent.
“The accused have been freed after completing nearly 20 years. 14 years in jail. The release has been done after a Supreme Court order. But it is wrong if any accused is felicitated and welcomed. An accused is an accused and there can be no justification for this (act),” said Fadnavis, who is also the home minister.
On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the case of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the 2002 communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their premature release under its remission policy.
They were welcomed with garlands following their release from jail.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose MLAs were on the Gujarat government-appointed remission committee, faced flak over the release of the convicts and the welcome accorded to them.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on January 21, 2008, sentenced the eleven accused to life imprisonment on the charge of gang rape and murder of seven members of the family of Bilkis Bano, a riot survivor.
Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
These convicts had served more than 15 years in jail after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.
The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence as per its 1992 policy on the basis of the date of his conviction.
Thereafter, the government formed a committee and issued an order allowing the premature release of all the convicts from jail.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis dubbed the rape of a 35-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district “very shameful” and said police and health officials will be sensitised again to handle cases related to crime against women.
Replying to debate in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the incident.
“The SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) exist but they are not followed. They have to be followed at the police station and the hospital. I want to assure the House that police and health officials will be sensitised again,” he said.
The incident occurred on June 30 when the woman was going to her brother’s home in Kamargaon in Goregaon tehsil in the Bhandara district.
She was raped by a driver who befriended her and left her on the spot.
The victim was later taken to the Lakhni police station but she was allowed to leave the next morning.
On the next day, she was allegedly raped by two other men, Amit Salve and Ijaz Ansari, at Kanhalmoh.
On August 2, some passers-by found her lying unconscious and alerted Kardha police who shifted her to a hospital.
Fadnavis said the woman is suffering from psychosis and undergoing treatment.
“She is unable to narrate many things. The first accused is yet to be arrested,” he said.
The woman revealed that Shriram Murkute, a tempo driver, allegedly raped her.
Fadnavis said the police tried to trace the accused by checking the people with that name and also the vehicle.
They found an 18-year-old man from Yavatmal with the same name, but his description did not match, while another person with the same name was lodged in the Balaghat jail.
It appears the tempo driver is a local and the woman said since he behaved nicely with her, she didn’t want to register any case, Fadnavis said, adding that the woman was being counselled.
“We told her that your complaint has been registered, so we need to take action against him. The probe is on. Till the first accused (Murkute), is arrested, it will be wrong to say that the probe has been completed,” Fadnavis said.
The woman is being treated and assistance is provided to her.
“This is a very shameful incident. If we look at the entire incident, there is a scope for improvement in our system,” the deputy chief minister said.
He told the Legislative Council that the victim did not tell the police at the Lakhni police station that she was raped.
“Though she left in good faith, the police should have started searching for her when she did not return in 30 minutes. In the evening, the woman reached Kardha on foot. Until then the police did not know where she was. This is a serious issue,” he said, adding that action has been taken against three police personnel.
An enquiry against the superintendent of police was underway and the officer was transferred.
He on Tuesday also said the state government will make all efforts to get the presidential assent speedily for the Shakti Bill that provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women.
Replying to a debate in the Legislative Council, he said the state government had sent the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, to the President for assent earlier this year.
The bill, inspired by the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh and other similar laws, was passed by the state legislature in December 2021.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs asked for some information pertaining to the bill and the state Director General of Police will soon submit a report, Fadnavis said.
While enacting special laws, some central laws are changed, hence such legislations are sent to eight central departments and scrutinized by the Law and Justice department to check whether they conform with Supreme Court and High Courts judgements, he said.
“I will go to Delhi and follow it up. An officer will be designated to ensure compliance of (the requirements of) all eight departments and the work related to presidential assent,” said Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister.
Other states which passed similar laws too took time to get the presidential assent, the deputy CM said.
The bill prescribes the death penalty for certain offences against women and children such as rape.
It also provides for enhanced punishment for offences such as throwing acid.
The bill also contemplates time-bound investigation, trial and disposal of appeals in certain cases.
(With PTI Inputs)
