Hundreds of people have held demonstrations in various parts of India to protest the government’s recent decision to release 11 men who had been jailed for life for gangraping a Muslim woman during India’s 2002 religious riots .
Protesters in the country’s capital, New Delhi, chanted slogans on Saturday and demanded the government of the western state of Gujarat to rescind the decision. They also sang songs in solidarity with the victim.
Similar protests were also held in several other states.
The 11 men, released on suspended sentences on August 15 when India celebrated 75 years of independence, were convicted in 2008 of rape, murder and unlawful assembly.
The victim, now in her 40s, recently said the Gujarat state government’s decision had left her numb and shaken her faith in justice.
The victim was pregnant when she was gangraped during communal violence in 2002 in Gujarat, where more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in some of the worst religious unrest India has seen since independence of Britain in 1947. Seven members of the woman’s family, including her threeyearold daughter, also died in the violence.
“The whole country should demand an answer directly from the Prime Minister of this country,” said Kavita Krishnan, a prominent activist.
Officials in Gujarat, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party holds power, have said the convicts’ request for remission was accepted because they had completed more than 14 years in prison. The men were eligible under a 1992 remission policy that was in effect at the time of their sentencing, officials said.
A more recent version of the policy adopted in 2014 by the federal government prohibits release from parole for those convicted of certain crimes, including rape and murder.
The unrest has long dogged Modi, who was Gujarat’s top elected official at the time, amid accusations that authorities allowed and even encouraged the bloodshed. Modi has repeatedly denied any role and the apex court has said it has found no evidence to prosecute him.
Asiya Qureshi, a young protester in New Delhi, said she took part in the demonstrations to seek justice for the victim.
“Modi gave a speech on August 15 about the safety and protection of women in India and on the same day they released the rapists,” he said. “How am I safe in this weather?”