The release of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case in August and the return of the 11 men to their village Singvad hits harder upon considering what this means for the survivors of the communal conflagration.
For survivors, this was the inevitability of having to cross paths again with those who had attacked their families. Singvad is an eight- to ten-minute walk from Randhikpur, the site of the horrific crime. Not surprisingly, several Muslims are reported to have fled their village when the convicts were released.
Quite like the rapists of Bano, the perpetrators of rioting and mass violence anywhere in the world are usually insiders – they rarely travel far from their own homes. Where violence is carefully planned, the involvement of insiders makes strategic sense as they play a key role in identifying victims and navigating escape routes for attackers.
All 11 convicts in the Naroda Patiya killings in Ahmedabad, for example, lived not more than half a kilometre from the victims’ residences – they were “born, brought up or have their business places in the area of Naroda Patiya”. Ninety-seven Muslims were killed in the Naroda Patiya locality during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Similarly, two of the most publicised convictions in the anti-Sikh violence of 1984…
