Bilkis returns to site with CBI, spots another lie

Putting another question mark on the handling of her case by the Gujarat police, Bilkis has identified the scene of the crime some 2 km away...

Putting another question mark on the handling of her case by the Gujarat police, Bilkis has identified the scene of the crime some 2 km away from the mass grave of her relatives exhumed recently.

This, CBI sources say, contradicts the Gujarat police report which mentioned that the killings on March 3, 2002 took place within 50 metres from the spot where they had buried the bodies.

Probing the gangrape of Bilkis and the massacre of her 14 relatives, the CBI on Saturday took Bilkis to the jungles of Randhikpur to reconstruct the attack. CBI sources said she pointed to a place which was some two kilometres away from the place where bodies of four victims were recovered just weeks ago.

Story continues below this ad

The CBI team wanted to take Bilkis to the spot earlier but couldn’t as she was pregnant. After her baby was born, she agreed to accompany the team.

The CBI videographed the reconstruction, as Bilkis narrated the events, and prepared a panchnama, with some government staff as witness. The panchnama will form part of a detailed report the CBI will submit to the Supreme Court.

CBI sources said that Bilkis initially seemed confused when she was taken to the spot. She had returned a full two years after the incident. But a hand pump, from which she drank water as she fled the rioters, helped her identify the spot.

CBI sources said she pointed to a spot at the base of a hillock near Chhappavad village. This was where she said she was raped.

Story continues below this ad

She told the CBI that she trekked up the hillock after the rioters left, leaving her for dead. She even pointed to a place atop the hillock where she hid herself for several hours.

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

Unprecedented rain submerges Kolkata amidst Durga Puja preparations; train services hit

Cities22 min ago

At least two people were killed as Kolkata woke up to an inundated city on Tuesday morning after heavy overnight rainfall flooded streets, railway tracks, and Metro tracks. The downpour, which began late Monday night and continued past midnight, led to severe waterlogging across major arterial roads and residential areas, paralysing normal life.

View all shorts

Live Blog