Hyderabad: Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre for releasing Bilkis Bano's rapists for `political gains.He said it is a new low by the BJP government at the centre.
The minister's response comes a day after a court document revealed that it was the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that recommended the premature release of Bilkis Bano's rapists.
The affidavit filed by the Gujarat government showed that the Superintendent of Police, CBI, Special Crime Branch Mumbai, and Special Judge (CBI) Mumbai opposed the remission of the convicts' sentence, but the MHA sought early release of the convicts.
"Shocking! All along it was reported that the Gujarat government released the `Sanskari Rapists'. Turns out that it is the union government who actually approved this. Shameful and repulsive. Letting out rapists and child-killers just for political gains is a new low even by the very low BJP standard," KTR tweeted.
Fourteen of Bilkis Bano's family members were murdered in the riots. Bano, then 19 and pregnant, was gang raped and left to die by 11 men from her village. However, she survived. Six years and many court hearings later, the 11 accused were sentenced to life for gang rape and murder in 2008.