Mau (Uttar Pradesh): In the absence of concrete evidence, a local court on Friday acquitted all 32 accused persons, including Mukhtar Ansari, MLA, in the case of riots that occurred here last October.

District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Kumar Gupta gave them the benefit of the doubt. A total of 33 persons were charged with inciting violence during the Dasara festival, leading to the killing of 20 persons and injuries to several others. One of the accused died during the course of the trial.

Out of 28 witnesses who deposed, 21 turned hostile. The others were either policemen or doctors. Mr. Ansari, who was present in the court when the judgment was pronounced, later told newspersons, "Truth has prevailed."

He said, ``I could not sleep during the past 11 months as I had been branded a rioter by the police. It was worse than being called a terrorist." — PTI

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