According to PTI reports, When asked whether he attended the program on Saturday, the convict, Shailesh Bhatt, said he went there for "puja" ritual but refused to elaborate.

AHMEDABAD: The Supreme Court will hear the Gujarat government's decision to release 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case on march 27th. Shailesh Chimanlal Bhatt, one of the accused in this case, was seen on stage two days earlier, on Saturday, alongside BJP MP Jaswant Singh Bhabhor and MLA Shailesh Bhabhor. The government organized a Har Ghar Jal Yojana-related program.

Shailesh Chimanlal Bhatt, a Bilkis Bano case convict, was seen sitting next to a BJP MP and MLA at an event related to the government's Har Ghar Jal Yojana. The event took place on March 25 in Karamdi village, Dahod district.

According to PTI reports, When asked whether he attended the program on Saturday, the convict, Shailesh Bhatt, said he went there for "puja" ritual but refused to elaborate.

આજરોજ પૂર્વ કેન્દ્રીય મંત્રી અને દાહોદ સાંસદ શ્રી @jsbhabhor સાહેબ દ્વારા કડાણા ડેમ બલ્ક પાઈપલાઈન આધારિત લીમખેડા જૂથ પાણી પુરવઠા યોજનાનું અંદાજીત રકમ ૧૦૧.૮૯ કરોડના કામોનું ભૂમિપૂજન લીમખેડા ખાતે કરવામાં આવ્યું..#shaileshbhabhor #MLAGujarat #limkheda #BJPGujarat #Dahod #bjp pic.twitter.com/qd790S1pzq

— Shailesh Bhabhor (@ssbhabhor) March 25, 2023

Social media users shared videos and images from the ceremony that showed Shailesh Chimanlal Bhatt on stage alongside Jaswant Sinh Bhabhor, a Dahod MP, and Sailesh Bhabhor, a Limkheda MLA. On the occasion, he was spotted taking pictures with them and even taking part in the puja. BJP leaders tweeted the pictures as well.

All 11 of the Convicts who had been given life sentences for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano in 2002 and the death of seven of her family members had been released as per the Gujarat government's remission policy on 15 august last year.

TMC'S Mahua Moitra shared images from the ceremony that showed Shailesh Chimanlal Bhatt, one of the accused in the Bilkis Bano rape case was seen sitting on stage alongside BJP MLA's and MP's.

Bilkis Bano's Rapist Shares Stage With Gujarat's BJP MP, MLA. I want to see these monsters back in jail & the key thrown away. And I want this satanic government that applauds this travesty of justice voted out. I want India to reclaim her moral compass. pic.twitter.com/noaoz1c7ZW

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 26, 2023

In 2008, they were all given life sentences for gangraping and killing seven members of Bilkis Bano's family. One of the eleven prisoners who were released was Shailesh Bhatt. In an effort to prevent the convicts' release, Bilkis has now petitioned the Supreme Court for review.

In her pending writ petition, Bilkis Bano claims that the state government issued the order in complete disregard of the Supreme Court's ruling. "The premature acquittal of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case has shaken the conscience of society and resulted in several agitations across the country," according to the petition.

Bilkis Bano had submitted two petitions, one of which requested that the Supreme Court reconsider its May 2022 ruling ordering the Gujarat government to take into account a prisoner's request for parole. The court dismissed the claim. 

(With inputs from PTI)