Some convicts in Bilkis Bano case are 'Brahmins with good sanskaar', says Gujarat BJP MLA

"We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison...also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good 'sanskaar' (values)," BJP MLA from Godhra C.K. Raulji said

Some of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 Gujarat riots are "Brahmins" with good 'sanskaar' or values and it is possible they may have been fixed due to their past family activities, a BJP MLA, who was a part of the State government panel that recommended remission to all the 11 men found guilty, has said.

C.K. Raulji, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Godhra, on Thursday said he does not know whether the convicts, released after spending more than 15 years in jail, were involved in the crime.

Also read | Bilkis Bano appeals to Gujarat government to ‘undo the harm’ of releasing convicts

On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 case of Bilkis Bano's gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their release under its remission policy.

"We took the decision on the basis of a Supreme Court order. We were asked to look at their (convicts') behaviour and decide (on their early release)," Mr. Raulji, who was one of the members of the government-appointed committee that recommended granting of remission to the convicts, told Mojo Story news portal.

"We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison...also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good 'sanskaar' (values)," said the ruling party legislator.

The Gujarat government's decision has invited sharp criticism from the Opposition parties who have said the move was against the Centre's guidelines.