AHMEDABAD, 8 August 2004 — The victim of a gang-rape in India’s western state of Gujarat during Hindu-Muslim riots two years ago yesterday welcomed a court order moving the trial of 20 suspects outside the polarized province. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the trial of the men accused of raping three Muslim women and killing 14 people to be moved to neighboring Maharashtra state to protect a key witness from intimidation.
Bilquise Yakub Rasool, a rape victim who has come forward as the only adult witness to the alleged crime, welcomed the decision, said Mukhtar Mohammed, a Muslim leader in Gujarat’s commercial capital Ahmedabad.
“From the very beginning, the local police and the government administration were trying to close this case,” he quoted Bilquise, who was five months pregnant at the time of the assault, as saying.
“Now with the Supreme Court judgment, we have some hope that justice will be done,” he quoted her as saying.
It was the second case to be moved out of Gujarat to ensure a fair trial.
