JOIN USNo SC relief for IPS officer in Bilkis case
The Supreme Court has refused to stay the conviction of IPS officer R S Bhagora in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case, which is one of several ongoing Gujarat riot cases.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Deepak Gupta did not see the need to expedite the case as the convicted officer had already undergone the sentence. The bench put off the hearing to the second week of July, observing that the fine would be Rs 15,000 only.
Currently serving in Gujarat, Bhagora is one of the five policemen convicted in the case by the Bombay High Court on May 4, after being acquitted by the trial court. He is one of the 11 people convicted in the case (one dead), including two doctors.
Pleading the court to stay Bhagora’s conviction, the counsel representing the IPS officer said he would be terminated in accordance with service rules if the conviction is not stayed.
The high court had said the five policemen and the two doctors have been convicted under Indian Penal Code sections 218 (not performing their duties) and section 201 (tampering of evidence).
On January 21, 2008, a special court had convicted 11 men and sentenced them to imprisonment for raping Bilkis Bano and killing seven of her family members on March 3, 2002, in the aftermath of the Godhra riots.