Telangana minister KT Rama Rao on Friday slammed the “silly trolls” after he faced questions over the Hyderabad gangrape following his criticism of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case walking out of jail. Multiple opposition leaders have strongly objected to the freeing of the convicts in the case that was reported during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The 11 men - who were set free earlier this week under the Gujarat government’s sentence remission policy - were convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven members of her family during the Godhra riots in 2002. All of them were serving life term imprisonment sentences.
Tweeting a picture of the convicts, KT Rama Rao on Thursday had tweeted: "This is a Blot on the Collective Conscience of our Nation. Rapists being garlanded & treated like war heroes or freedom fighters!!! Remember, what happened to #BilkisBano today can happen to anyone of us tomorrow. Speak up India. (sic)"
On Friday, in an apparent response to the questions he faced on social media, KTR - as he is often called - said that his government had acted swiftly in a gangrape case registered in the city of Hyderabad recently. The case had minors involved too and the accused were from influential families.
”To the silly trolls who indulge in whataboutery & question what #Telangana Govt did in recent rape case in Hyderabad The Rapists were arrested swiftly & sent to jail. After 45 days, the High Court had granted them Bail. We will fight on till these rapists get punished as per law (sic),” the Telangana minister wrote in a post.
{{/usCountry}}”To the silly trolls who indulge in whataboutery & question what #Telangana Govt did in recent rape case in Hyderabad The Rapists were arrested swiftly & sent to jail. After 45 days, the High Court had granted them Bail. We will fight on till these rapists get punished as per law (sic),” the Telangana minister wrote in a post.
{{/usCountry}}“Loopholes in Juvenile Justice Act, IPC & CrPC have resulted in the rapists getting out on Bail in JH rape case. That’s the reason why I am demanding that these acts be amended so no Rapist gets a bail & when convicted remains in Jail till death. Life imprisonment in truest sense,” he said in another post.
The gangrape of the 16-year-old girl in Hyderabad had triggered countrywide outrage. She was allegedly gangraped by six persons including five juveniles, after abducting her from a high profile pub on May 28. Last month, the police had submitted a 600 page chargesheet. Among the six accused, five are reported to be juveniles.