NEW DELHI, 26 September 2003 — The Supreme Court yesterday directed authorities in Gujarat to “keep off” from a woman who was allegedly raped by a mob during last year’s sectarian violence after she complained of harassment by the state police.
A bench comprising Judges S. Rajendra Babu and A.R. Lakshmanan directed Gujarat’s Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department “to keep off from” Bilkis Yakub Rasool till the court decided on her petition seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the rape case.
Rasool filed an application yesterday alleging the state police had started harassing her for approaching the court.
She said she had received threatening calls from various people, asking her to withdraw her petition.
As a result Rasool, her husband and child had to leave Gujarat with the help of a social service organization.
The judges observed this was a serious matter and asked the state police to keep off from her.
Rasool was one of the women allegedly raped by a mob on Feb. 28, 2002, a day after a train was torched in Godhra town, killing 59 people and sparking communal violence across Gujarat.
The Gujarat police closed the rape case despite a medical report confirming the crime.
Reacting to Rasool’s petition, filed at the instance of the National Human Rights Commission, the Supreme Court had earlier issued notice to the Gujarat government, seeking its response to the allegation that the police had closed the matter without proper investigation.
Meanwhile, the same bench directed the listing of a petition filed by prominent dancer Mallika Sarabhai and others seeking compensation for families of victims of last year’s violence before the bench headed by Chief Justice V.N. Khare that is hearing what is known as the Best Bakery case.
The case relates to one of the worst massacres during the sectarian violence at the Best Bakery in Baroda, in which 14 people were killed.
Petitioner’s counsel Harish Salve argued that she was called by police officials for questioning at 2200 hours on Sept. 16, on the plea that she had to identify dead bodies at Godhra.
Fearing harassment, Salve said that the petitioner was compelled to shift from Godhra to Kalol.
The Supreme Court also ordered listing of a host of public interest litigations seeking independent inquiry into the Godhra incident and subsequent riots in Gujarat along with a petition filed by NHRC for transfer of riot cases outside the state.
(With input from Indo-Asian News Service)
