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P R 301219Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
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INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 7182
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 1631
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 1050
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1446
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCNIND/ALL INDO COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000029 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO DRL/IRF FOR JOANELLA MORALES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: BILKIS BANO VERDICT - A MUMBAI COURT HANDS OUT SENTENCES IN 
A SYMBOLIC 2002 GUJARAT RIOT CASE 
 
MUMBAI 00000029  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  On January 21, 2008, a special court in Mumbai 
convicted 12 Hindu men for their roles in the rape of Bilkis 
Bano and the murder of her relatives during the Gujarat riots of 
¶2002.  The court sentenced 11 of 19 accused men to life in 
prison on rape and murder charges and one policeman to three 
years in prison for falsifying evidence.  The court refrained 
from using the death penalty and acquitted five policemen and 
two doctors accused of destroying evidence.  Despite the 
acquittals, which Bano plans to appeal, the conviction and 
sentencing of a policeman is being hailed as an important legal 
precedent for bringing government officials complicit in 
communal crimes to justice.  The Government of Gujarat deserves 
no credit for this conviction, however, as its inability to 
provide a fair trial for this case resulted in its transfer out 
of state.  Although Human Rights groups are largely happy with 
the result in this case, the continuing need to try these cases 
outside of Gujarat will make more such victories difficult to 
achieve.  End Summary. 
 
 
Bilkis Bano Sentences Delivered 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In March 2002, during the communal violence which swept 
the state of Gujarat, a raging mob gang-raped Bilkis Bano, who 
was pregnant at the time, and murdered 8 members of her family, 
including her three-year-old daughter, and six other members of 
her village.  In 2004, following the local government's failure 
to provide a proper police investigation of the incident and its 
subsequent decision to drop the case, the Supreme Court ordered 
the Central Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case and 
transfer the trial to the neighboring state of Maharashtra on 
the grounds that a fair trial was not possible in Gujarat. 
Bano, who has remained in hiding since 2002, served as the 
primary witness in the trial which ultimately brought many of 
her attackers to justice.  Bano's case is now the second Gujarat 
riot case to be transferred out of the state to be tried in a 
special Mumbai court. 
 
 
Background - The Gujarat Riots 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) About 1,000 people (a majority of them Muslims) were 
killed in three months of violent anti-Muslim reprisals from 
March to May 2002 after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims 
returning from the site of a destroyed mosque in Ayodhya caught 
fire in unclear circumstances resulting in the death of 59 
Hindus.  Hindu groups blamed a Muslim mob for the fire, although 
a 2006 inquiry later claimed that it was an accident.  Many 
accused the Government of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata 
Party (BJP) for indirectly supporting the violence by failing to 
provide any preventative measures. 
 
¶4.  (U) Of the initial 4,000+ cases registered against the 
rioters, over 2,000 were dismissed by the Gujarat police for 
lack of evidence.  By 2004, only a handful of Hindus had been 
convicted for crimes related to the 2002 riots and most of the 
accused had been acquitted due to lack of witnesses or evidence. 
 In the few emblematic cases where convictions have been 
delivered, including the Best Bakery case and the Bilkis Bano 
case, a civil rights group has intervened to assist in 
protecting the witnesses and provide for their well-being, 
covering substantial legal charges.  (Note: In 2006, in the 
"Best Bakery Case", a Mumbai retrial sentenced nine Hindus to 
life for an arson attack on a bakery during the riots that left 
12 Muslims dead.  The original trial had resulted in acquittals, 
amid accusations of witness intimidation.  Following this 
verdict in 2007, a local court in Godhra, Gujarat convicted 11 
individuals on similar charges suggesting federal oversight may 
be having an effect on local courts in Gujarat. End Note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Observers of the Gujarat justice process are divided 
about the efficacy of retrials outside the state.  While legal 
scholars have stated that transferring cases outside Gujarat 
sets a bad precedent, plaintiffs continue to demand such 
transfers on the grounds that they continue to endure political 
interference amid an atmosphere of fear.  At the same time, the 
NGOs that have assisted victims with the two re-trial cases 
believe that moving these cases to Mumbai led to the Gujarat 
lower judiciary becoming more cautious in hearing other riot 
related cases.  The transfer of the "Best Bakery" and "Bilkis 
 
MUMBAI 00000029  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Bano" cases outside the state may have contributed to a handful 
of convictions in pursuant cases heard in Gujarat. 
 
¶6.  (U) Despite the Bano convictions, NGOs are not confident 
that justice will be delivered to the majority of Gujarat's 
Muslim victims.  Gagan Sethi of "Janvikas" who assisted in the 
Bano case, informed us, "I have overstayed my welcome at all my 
Mumbai relatives' houses.  Your city is very expensive.  My 
small NGO simply does not have the wherewithal to see another 
case through."  At the same time, independent observer Anosh 
Malekar, currently writing a book on the Gujarat riots of 2002, 
informed us that justice may not be the primary objective for 
many of the victims, stating, "for the poor, ultimately, peace 
is more important than justice.  They would much rather resume 
normal lives again, than insist on ephemeral justice from an 
ill-performing judicial process.  The powers that be in Gujarat 
know that they just have to be thick-skinned and wait it out 
until the victims give up."  Bano echoed this sentiment at a 
recent press conference in Delhi following the court verdict, 
stating, "The last six years have been terrible.  I have had to 
change homes many times and have had to stay away from Gujarat 
because the government and police refused to protect me... I 
want to educate my children and lead a peaceful life."  While 
justice was ultimately delivered to Bilkis Bano, no credit is 
due the Government of Gujarat which proved unable to provide for 
a fair trial and required federal interference to bring the 
perpetrators to justice.  With the recent conviction of 11 
people in a Godhra court, activists hope that courts in Gujarat 
may begin adjudicating more outstanding cases fairly. End 
comment. 
OWEN