Mau riot case: Court acquits Ansari, 31 others

Twenty-eight witnesses had deposed before the court, out of which, 21 had turned hostile.

A local court on Friday, acquitted all 32 accused, including controversial MLA Mukhtar Ansari, in the case related to riots that occurred in Mau last year due to the absence of concrete evidence.

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District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Kumar Gupta, delivering his verdict, acquitted all the accused giving them the benefit of doubt in the absence of adequate evidence against them.

The judge had completed the hearing in the case on September 7 and reserved his ruling for Friday.

A total of 33 people were charged with inciting violence during Dussehra festival in October last year leading to the killing of 20 people and injuries to several others. One of the accused had died during the course of trial.

Twenty-eight witnesses had deposed before the court, out of which, 21 had turned hostile. The remaining seven were either policemen or doctors. All the accused, including Ansari, were present in the court when the judgement was announced.

Later, talking to newspersons, Ansari expressed happiness over the verdict saying "truth has prevailed".

"I could not sleep properly during the past 11 months as I had been branded as a rioter by the police," the independent MLA said adding, "it was worse than being called a terrorist."