Muzaffarnagar riots: 8 acquitted in 2013 riots murder case for lack of evidence
A Muzaffarnagar court acquits the accused in the killing of a 70-year-old woman after finding that the prosecution failed to prove its case
A local court in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district on Monday acquitted eight people in a murder case linked to the 2013 riots, citing lack of evidence.
Additional district and sessions judge Anurag Panwar acquitted the accused, observing that the prosecution had failed to establish its case, government counsel Narendra Sharma said.
The incident took place on 8 September 2013 in Lank village, where 70-year-old Shakuran was killed. Her son, Yusuf Saifi, had lodged a complaint against nine people.
The Special Investigation Team filed a chargesheet against Virendra, Vikas, Ankur, Jagpal, Arvind, Mohit, Anuj, Sandeep and Deepak, accusing them of attacking a house with sharp-edged weapons during the riots.
One of the accused, Deepak, died while the trial was pending. The remaining eight faced the proceedings that culminated in Monday's acquittal.
The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots left more than 60 people dead and displaced over 40,000.
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