— only 20 years old at the time and five months pregnant — was trying to outrun the violence with her three-year-old daughter Saleha and other family members when a mob armed with swords, sickles, and sticks attacked them.in the assault. Both Haleema and Shamim died there, as was Bano’s young toddler Saleha killed in the assault.
Bano, miraculously, survived. While she was unconscious, the mob left thinking she was dead. According to several reports, after three hours, Bano regained consciousness and borrowed clothes from anwoman to make her way to the police station and register a complaint. She would later learn the fate of her loved ones. Ultimately, 14 members of her family were murdered that day.
It took Bano six years to attain even a semblance of justice for herself and her slain family. She faced resistance at every turn,dismissal — and outright intimidation — from police and state officials, destroyed evidence, burials without autopsies, and death threats. Even the doctors who examined her lied that she hadn’t been raped. After Bano complained about the intimidation and threats, her case was transferred outside Gujarat to the Maharashtra government.
It was eventually taken up by the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court of India, whichOn January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Maharashtra convicted 11 men for conspiring to rape a pregnant woman, and of unlawful assembly under sections of the Indian Penal Code. The attackers were sentenced to life imprisonment. Seven others were acquitted citing lack of evidence, and one person died during the trial.shortly after the men’s release. “It has shaken my faith in justice.
Bano, who is currently sheltering at an unknown location due to ongoing security threats, appealed to the state government in Gujarat to “undo this harm” and ensure hers and her family’s safety.