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Journalism of Courage
In an unscheduled hearing, the Supreme Court today warned the Gujarat police to 8216;8216;keep off8217;8217; riot and rape victim Bilkis Yakub Rasool till it decides her plea for transferring her case to the CBI.
This followed an urgent application made by her alleging that the police had begun to harass her after the Supreme Court issued a notice on September 8 to the state to explain why it had closed her case even though her allegation of rape had been substantiated by a forensic report.
In her application, Bilkis alleged that the police exerted pressure on her to accompany them even after she told them that she had nothing more to add to what she had already disclosed to the police on more than one occasion when the case was under investigation.
The state counsel sought to explain the incident by saying that following the court8217;s notice on September 8, the government shifted the case from the Dahod district police to the state crime branch. The bench, however said, 8216;8216;It would be appropriate for the state police to keep off her till the court decides her plea for transfer of the case to CBI.8217;8217;
The application said that taking her to the forest late in the night 8216;8216;could not have served any purpose except harassment of the petitioner. The conduct of the officer in insisting upon such a course defies reason and smacks of a deliberate ploy to terrorise her.8217;8217; The officer again questioned her the next day and the local police 8216;8216;picked up8217;8217; a cousin of her husband on the pretext of inquiring about the whereabouts of the other witnesses to the crime, she said.
