Lucknow: a court on Thursday acquitted four individuals accused of involvement in the Muzaffarnagar 2013 riots, which had claimed over 60 lives.
The court of additional district and sessions in UP’s Muzaffarnagar acquitted all four for lack of evidence, said the district government counsel.
Momin Ahmed had filed a case against dozens of people for allegedly setting his house on fire after looting valuables, police said. The accused were subsequently booked under IPC sections 395 (dacoity), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance to destroy the house), and 452 (house trespass). The SIT later submitted a chargesheet against Satyaveer alias Satbir, Suraj alias Sauraj, Neetu alias Narendra, and Bittu.
Momin alleged in the FIR that several villagers raised religious slogans and insulted women members of the family. He alleged that the houses of his brother Shahzad, uncles Noor Hasan, and Shahbuddin were also set on fire.
The communal riots erupted after 25-year-old Shahnawaz was stabbed to death on Aug 27, 2013, at Kawal village, allegedly by a group of eight people. Soon after the murder, a crowd caught two of the purported attackers, Sachin and Gaurav, and lynched them. Over 50,000 people fled their homes in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts after the riots.
