New Delhi: The BJP-ruled Gujarat government has refused to give any relief to the accused in the Godhra case even after the release of bilkis bano’s rapists. The Gujarat government has strongly opposed the bail plea of those accused in the Stone-pelting incident on the Sabarmati Express in Godhra in the Supreme Court. They told the court that those involved in heinous crimes like Godhra cannot be spared in any way.On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed in a fire that broke out in the S-6 compartment of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra station in Gujarat. Many of them were karsevaks. They were on their way back from Ayodhya when they were victims of the incident.
As a result, violence spread all over Gujarat. The very next day in Gandhinagar The fire of communal violence broke out in Paliad village. Many minority families were affected. It was alleged that the incident of godhra was planned by the accused. The train was set on fire. And stones were also hurled at the train.In the wake of the riots, the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government arrested several accused. In 2011, a special SIT court acquitted 63 people involved in the fire. The hearing in the Godhra case ended in 2015. 31 people were convicted. A case was filed again challenging the verdict. Of the 31 convicts, 11 were sentenced to death. The rest were sentenced to life imprisonment.
However, the death sentence of those 11 was also abolished in 2017. They have been sentenced to life imprisonment. All the accused are currently in jail.Recently, in the Supreme Court, those accused of stone pelting applied for bail. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha sought the gujarat government’s opinion on the matter. The court observed that since they had spent 17-18 years in jail, they could be granted bail. But the Gujarat government has strongly opposed their bail. The question here is, if the Gujarat government can release the brutal rapists of Bilkis Bano, then why will Godhra be left?
