NDTV Exclusive: Union Minister Defends Freeing Of Bilkis Bano Rapists

After an explosive reveal on the Centre and Gujarat fast-tracking the early release of 11 men serving life terms for raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family in the 2002 Gujarat riots, a Union Minister today defended the decision. "When the government and the concerned people have taken the decision, I don't find anything wrong in it as it is a process of law," Prahlad Joshi, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, told NDTV. 

The minister said for convicts who have spent "quite some time" in prison, "there is a provision" for release.

"Accordingly, as per law, it is done," said Mr Joshi, who is campaigning for his party BJP in Gujarat.

Reacting to the outrage over the "law" for premature release applied to convicts sentenced for what the CBI called a "heinous, grave and serious" crime, the Minister echoed Gujarat's "good behaviour" argument. 

"After having been in prison for some time, if their behaviour...there are so many incidents, I don't want to get into that," Mr Joshi said.

Hardik Patel, the Patidar leader who quit the Congress and joined the BJP in June, backed the convicts' release.

"The state government has the authority to release prisoners for good behaviour. I believe this is being deliberately projected wrongly. Of course, any criminal deserves punishment for their deeds," Hardik Patel said. 

A third BJP leader campaigning with them, Alpesh Thakore, was the exception as he said it was unacceptable to free the convicts guilty of gang-rape and murder. 

"I don't accept it. Even good behaviour is not enough, for releasing such men. It is shameful that they were given sweets when they walked out of jail," Mr Thakore told NDTV.

A 470-page Gujarat government affidavit reveals that the Centre ignored multiple red flags while approving the release of the convicts. Gujarat had sought the Centre's approval on June 28. The one-page sign-off came swiftly, on July 11, and did not cite any reason.

The Gujarat government has told the Supreme Court that the men were released as they had been in jail for 14 years; their behaviour was found to be "good"; and the centre had approved it.

The convicts walked free on August 15 Independence Day amid nationwide outrage. Outside the prison in Gujarat, they were greeted like heroes with garlands and sweets.

The CBI and a special CBI judge in Mumbai had vetoed the move. The offence was "heinous, grave and serious" and deserved no leniency, the CBI had said. Th judge had called it the "worse form of hate crime...committed only on the ground that the victims belong to a particular religion. In this case, even minor children were not spared."