More than 20 months after the Gujarat riots, the Modi government today agreed to finally refer a riot case to the CBI.The state made this concession before the Supreme Court in the case pertaining to the gangrape of a pregnant woman, Bilkis Yakoob Rasool, by a mob during the post-Godhra riots. The plight of Bilkis was first reported by The Indian Express.Besides being a departure from the policy of resisting all demands for referring any riot case to the CBI, the concession is significant as it came in a case already closed by the Gujarat police despite a forensic report confirming rape.But Gujarat’s counsel, additional solicitor general Mukul Rohatgi, hastened to clarify that this concession was limited to the case of Bilkis and ‘‘without prejudice’’ to the government’s stand that the Gujarat police were fully competent to probe it.The bench headed by Justice S Rajendra Babu directed the CBI to file a status report of its probe within eight weeks and adjourned hearing on the case on the suggestion of the victim’s counsel, senior advocate Harish Salve.Describing the manner in which the police dealt with her case, Salve said that they filed a closure report before the local magistrate on the technical ground that there were contradictions in the statements of Bilkis.The court had, earlier, directed the Gujarat police to ‘‘keep off’’ Bilkis when it was alleged that she was being harassed for filing a petition with legal help of the NHRC four months ago.
