Bhubaneswar: Additional District and Sessions Judge in Deogarh district has acquitted three Maoists including two women, in connection with the 2007 murder of a contractor Prabhata Pradhan alias Mahi.
The court acquitted the accused Shatrughna Biswal, Manjulata Muduli alias Mita and Kalestika Minj alias Sujata due to insufficient evidence to prove their involvement in the crime.
According to the prosecution, Pradhan was brutally murdered by a group of armed Maoists, who stormed his house in Telikusum village under the Deogarh police station on June 22, 2007. The Maoist cadres, allegedly suspecting Pradhan of being a police informer, had tied up his family members and taken him to a nearby forest where he was killed.
Police had registered a case under various sections, including murder, sedition, and unlawful use of arms, and investigated the matter. However, the court acquitted the accused due to lack of evidence.
