Bilkis Bano Case Latest Updates: Locked doors and a policeman on guard is the sight that greets one at the twin villages of Randhikpur and Singvad, where at least nine of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case lived, and are now, “missing”. When The Indian Express visited Singvad on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court verdict that overturned their August 15, 2022 remission granted by the Gujarat government, their relatives were reluctant to say where the nine men were. The two villages are located side by side, with villagers using both the names interchangeably. Claiming that his son was innocent, Akhambhai Chaturbhai Raval (87), father of one of the convicts, Govind Nai (55), blamed the conviction on “political vendetta of Congress”. Raval said Govind had left the house "a week ago". A local policeman said that Govind left home on Saturday (January 6). His ailing parents emphasised that they are a “Hindu faith-abiding family, incapable of committing the crimes” that have been alleged against their son as well as Akhambhai's brother Jashvant Nai, another convict in the case. “I wish and pray that he (Govind) gets to do seva (service) at the (Ram) mandir pratishthan in Ayodhya. It is better to do seva than do nothing and roam around everyday. He has not been able to do anything since he was released (from jail). Going back to jail is not a big deal and it is not that he was out of jail unlawfully. He was released with due process of law and now the law has told him to go back, so he will go back. He spent 20 years in jail so it is not something new,” Akhambhai said. Among all the residences of the convicts, Govind's residence is the farthest from where Bilkis used to live in 2002. Bilkis and her family had left their house in Randhikpur on February 28, 2002, soon after the train-burning incident in Godhra the previous day. On March 3, 2002, she was gangraped and 14 members of the family, including her three-year-old daughter, were killed by a mob in Limkheda taluka of Dahod. The bodies of six were never found. The 11 convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI special court on January 21, 2008. Govind’s single-storeyed house, adjacent to his parents’ kutcha house, was locked from the outside with a Randhikpur police station constable standing guard. Another convict, Radheshyam Shah, has not been home "since the last 15 months", said his father Bhagwandas Shah. This, even as neighbours and shopkeepers at the busy village square attest that nearly all the convicts were publicly seen until Sunday, including Radheshyam. Bhagwandas claimed that he “doesn’t know where Radheshyam is. he went with his wife and son”. His brother, Aashish Shah, refused to comment on the verdict even as he was seen hurriedly packing a carry bag with food items and clothes. “The verdict has just came out, we will see what to do. We haven’t spoken to our lawyers yet,” he said. Most shopkeepers are held in a shroud of silence and refrained from commenting on the convicts or the verdict, though they nod in acknowledgement of being aware of it. When asked about the whereabouts of the convicts, a villager said, “You won’t find them now. All of them locked their houses and left.” Outside each of these locked houses are stationed a lone constable, a part of the police bandobast in light of Monday's verdict. Sub-Inspector G B Rathva, in charge at Randhikpur police station, said, “We arranged for bandobast because we did not want any untoward incident, either from the convicts’ side, their family and relatives, or from the other side who may want to celebrate the verdict.” Akhambhai, too, said that none of the convicts are available in the village today “since they knew that mediapersons may be present”. He, however, expressed faith that the convicts won’t go absconding “because for 20 years they did not abscond when they were let of on parole or furlough or bail”. The village square has a temple and on Monday, a prominent banner dotted one of its side, declaring a month-long feast to celebrate the idol installation at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Most of the convicts’ residences are a stone’s throw away from the temple. A few metres away stands the house of Pradip Modhiya (57), another convict who is missing. Sub-Inspector R N Damor, stationed outside his house, said that Pradip left early Monday and will return soon “since he also left his vehicle (a bike) here”. “The bandobast is just a precautionary measure. Nothing happened while the convicts were out these last 16 months,” said Damor. Convict Ramesh Chandana (60), whom The Indian Express had met in August 2022 after his release, did not respond to calls. Villagers said he no longer lived in Singvad and is primarily based in Godhra. His son-in-law, whose house is metres away from Pradip's, said that Ramesh “is not in a state to talk or meet to discuss the verdict, even over phone”. The other convicts included brothers Shailesh Bhatt (65) and Mitesh Bhatt (58), neighbours of Radheshyam. The Shah family feigned ignorance about the whereabouts of the Bhatts. The remaining convicts with their residences in the village are Rajubhai Soni, Kesharbhai Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania and Bipinchandra Joshi, who is now purportedly based out of Vadodara, said villagers.
