A special court, trying cases related to the 2002 communal violence at Marad Beach, on Monday acquitted all the 12 accused in the murder of a youth.
Special Judge K.P. Prasanna Kumari held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused.
Twenty-one-year-old Yunus was stabbed to death by unidentified persons when he rushed to the beach on learning that his fishing boat was set on fire during the communal violence that claimed five lives in January 2002. In the retaliatory attacks, several houses were set on fire by rival groups in the coastal belt.
Public Prosecutor K.V. Joseph said the investigation into the Marad carnage very often lacked effective coordination as the cases were being probed by different officials. Due to this, he could not effectively substantiate many of the charges against the accused with solid proof.
