Bilkis Bano rape case witness seeks death penalty for convicts: ‘These men must never be…’

Bilkis Bano Rape case's only witness, a minor at the time of the incident, has said that the accused should be hanged or kept behind bars for the remainder of their lives. On 8 January, the Supreme Court of India quashed a government decision to prematurely release 11 convicts facing life term for the gang rape of and the murder of 14 persons.

According to a report, the witness, who was only seven at the time the happened in 2002, also lost his mother and and elder sister to miscreants who perpetrated the . The report quotes the eyewitness, who is 28 year old now and lives in with his wife and a five year old son, saying, “I had endured the trauma of watching my loved ones being killed in front of my eyes.

I still wake up in the night and scream as those moments haunt me even after all these years". The eyewitness is a cousin of . To save themselves, a group of 17 persons, mostly women and children, left Randhikpur village in taluka of district and headed towards Devgadh Baria town via a forest, said a social activist who gave shelter to that boy.

“Bilkis Bano along with this boy (eyewitness) and his mother and elder sister were also in that group, which was attacked by a mob on March 3. Of those 17, the mob killed 14, including an infant, and then gang raped . They also tried to kill and this boy but they survived. A 4 year old boy also survived the attack after the mob left thinking everyone was dead," said an activist to PTI.

, then 21 years old and five months pregnant, was raped while fleeing. Her three year old daughter and six other family members were killed. “I felt very hurt when they were set free. I am somewhat relieved now because they will be sent behind bars once again. My mother and my elder sister were among the 14 who were killed that day in front of my eyes," the eyewitness told .

“All the convicts must be either hanged for or they must be kept behind bars for the remainder of their lives. Only then justice will be served. These men must never be set free again," he asserted. The eyewitness's testimony was crucial in nabbing the eleven convicts in rape case. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more.

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