Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday appealed to the Maharashtra government to take seriously the Bilkis Bano case, who was gangraped and her seven family members murdered in 2002, and keep in mind what the Supreme Court has said about the "heinous crime", reported news agency PTI.

Addressing a news conference, Sharad Pawar said, "Looking at what the woman has gone through and that seven members of her family were killed, I feel the Maharashtra government will take this case seriously," reported PTI.