Shabana Azmi broke down and asked: “Is Bilkis Bano not human?”

More than 130 retired civil servants wrote to the Chief Justice of India to rectify the “horrendously wrong decision”. Many citizens held protests in multiple places in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spun the charkha to celebrate Khadi Utsav on the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, not too far from where a panel had taken the decision to free the 11 convicted rapists and murderers in the Bilkis Bano case.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Khadi Utsav in Ahmedabad on Saturday. PTI picture

Modi, who had spoken extensively on “nari shakti” on the 75th anniversary of Independence (the same day the convicts walked free), did speak about women on Saturday. A record was created on Saturday as 7,500 women spun the charkha together at the festival, Modi noted, adding that it was a great way to honour the freedom fighters.

The Prime Minister made no reference in public to how the government run by his party in Gujarat had chosen to “honour” Bilkis who had, regardless of her ordeal, reposed full faith in the republic and its pillars.

Protests in New Delhi on Saturday against the release of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. PTI picture

Before taking part in the festival, Modi held a meeting with Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, state BJP chief C.R. Paatil and senior government officials at a facility near Ahmedabad. Two state ministers and K. Kailashnathan, chief principal secretary to the chief minister, were also present, sources said.

In New Delhi on Jantar Mantar Road, Azmi cried at a protest led by Left women’s groups. “The Constitution guarantees equality for all human beings. Is Bilkis Bano not human?” the actor asked.

CPIML-Liberation politburo member Kavita Krishnan said: “This is a reward, not a remission. They are being rewarded for committing the crime, and being garlanded for it as well. It is to tell the voters of Gujarat who were not born in 2002 that we are with the rapists of Muslims. ‘We did it, remember that and vote for us’.”

Protests in Bangalore on Saturday against the release of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. PTI picture

Protests also took place in Calcutta, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bhopal and Chandigarh. Parties like the Trinamul Congress and the NCP led protests. Demonstrations against the release of the convicts took place in several districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

A five-month pregnant Bilkis was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots and several members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, were killed.

Protests have been taking place since the August 15 release, mostly led by Left parties and groups on campuses of educational institutions and other areas of their influence.

A gathering has been called in Mumbai on Sunday as well against the remission. In Bangalore, a memorandum is being sent to the governor by the protesters.

In a statement addressed to the Chief Justice of India, 134 senior retired civil servants, including former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, former cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar and former foreign secretaries Shivshankar Menon and Sujatha Singh, highlighted what they consider as errors in the procedure followed by the Gujarat government in granting the remission.

These include not taking clearance from the Centre or the trial court judge who convicted them, not assessing the risk to Bilkis and her kin who have been threatened several times since the crime, and half the members of the advisory committee that recommended the remission owing allegiance to the BJP.

The signatories wrote: “In view of these glaring deviations from established law, departure from government policy and propriety, and the chilling impact that this release will have, not just on Bilkis Bano and her family and supporters, but also on the safety of all women in India, especially those who belong to minority and vulnerable communities, we urge you to rescind the order of remission passed by the Gujarat government and send the 11 persons convicted of gang rape and murder back to jail to serve out their life sentence.”

Hearing a challenge to the remission, the Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and the Gujarat government.

Additional reporting from PTI