SC directs govt to pay indemnity, job, accommodation to Bilkis Bano

Ahmadabad: In its verdict related to 2002 Gujarat riots, Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Gujarat government to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh, a government job and accommodation to gang-rape survivor Bilkis Bano, as per rules.

A bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna and headed by Chief Justice Rajan Gogoi was informed by the state government that action has been taken against the erring police officials involved in the case and that the state's counsel has stopped the pension benefits of such officials. It also said that the IPS officer who was convicted by the Bombay High Court in the case has been demoted by two ranks.

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Earlier, Bano had refused to accept the offer of Rs 5 lakh and had sought exemplary compensation from the state government in a plea before the Supreme court.

The apex court had asked the state government to take disciplinary action in two weeks against the guilty police officials.

A special court on 21 January, 2008, had convicted and awarded life imprisonment to 11 men for raping Bano and murdering seven of her family members in the aftermath of the Godhra riots. It also acquitted seven persons including the policemen and doctors found guilty in the case.

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(PTI)