Jaipur: A special court in Jaipur handling statewide cases related to communal riots, Tuesday acquitted 13 individuals accused of a double murder committed nearly 25 years ago in Malpura town of Tonk district. The lower court’s decision was based on the prosecution’s failure to substantiate the charges against the accused with adequate evidence.The acquitted individuals, however, remain implicated in a second double-murder case from the same riots, the verdict of which is expected on Aug 24. In her judgment, the court’s presiding officer Shweta Gupta stated, “The prosecution failed to prove the crime against the accused with proper evidence and investigation.” The individuals acquitted included Ratanlal, Kishanlal, Ramswaroop, Devkaran, Shyoji Ram, Ramkishore, Sukhlal, Chhotu, Bachchraj, Kistur, Hiralal, Satyanarayan and Kishanlal. As per court docuements, Mohammad Ali and his nephew Mohammad Salim were murdered in Malpura on July 10, 2000, during a time of heightened communal tensions. The case was initiated after Shahzad, a relative of the victims, lodged a police report asserting that members of a particular community were responsible for the killings. Following this, a total of 22 individuals were charged. Out of the original 22 accused, eight had previously been discharged by the High Court in 2016, while one was classified as a minor, resulting in his case being referred to the Juvenile Court. The remaining 13 were acquitted on Tuesday, with the court granting them the benefit of doubt. Defense attorneys argued that the investigation conducted by the police was inadequate. VK Bali, one of the defense counsels, emphasised that the FIR was based on second-hand information and highlighted the imposition of Section 144 at the time of the incident, which raised doubts about the reliability of the purported eyewitnesses. Additionally, the defense pointed out the absence of the murder weapon and criticised the lack of a proper identification parade for the accused.
