News / India

Indian court convicts police, doctors in Gujarat gang rape case

Thursday, 04 May 2017 12:44 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 May 2017 1:07 PM ]

This photo taken on March 1, 2002, shows an Indian policeman as he walks in front of a row of burning shops in Ahmedabad, in western Gujarat State, where Muslims were attacked by violent mobs. (Photo by AFP)

Five police officers and two doctors in India have been convicted of having a role in a major gang rape case 15 years ago.

The court in the western city of Mumbai ruled on Thursday that the officers and doctors had tampered with evidence in a case involving the gang rape of Bilkis Bano, a pregnant woman, and the murder of seven of her during religious riots that broke out in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat.

The seven had earlier been acquitted but India’s Central Bureau of Investigation had lodged an appeal. The court in Mumbai overturned the acquittal and also upheld the convictions of 11 Hindu men convicted of rape and murder in the case.

Bilkis sent a statement to the media and expressed her satisfaction with the ruling, saying that officials who had "emboldened, encouraged, and protected" her attackers had finally been convicted.

"My rights, as a human being, as a citizen, woman, and mother were violated in the most brutal manner, but I had trust in the democratic institutions of our country," said Bilkis, adding, "Now, my family and I feel we can begin to lead our lives again, free of fear."

Bilkis survived the attack, along with two of her children, but her three-year-old daughter, was among the victims.

This file photo taken on March 2, 2002, shows a mob of Indian Hindus armed with swords as they run down a street in the Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, in western Gujarat State. (Photo by AFP)

The hate attack took place during one of the worst incidents of religious unrest since India’s independence. Violent mobs hacked, beat, shot or burned at least 2,000 Muslims to death. The violence erupted when the Hindus wrongly blamed a Muslim group for the death of some Hindus in a train fire.

The then chief minister of Gujarat and the incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was initially accused of turning a blind eye to the violence. Modi was cleared of all charges in 2012. However, the government still faces charges of delay in the prosecution of those accused in the riots.

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