Chhattisgarh: Special court acquits tribal activist Soni Sori, three others in Naxal payoff case
The Hindu
A special court at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh has acquitted tribal activist Soni Sori and three others in a case lodged against them in 2011 for alleged transfer of ‘protection money’ to Naxals.
Also read: My method is a mix of Gandhi and Bhagat Singh: Soni Sori
Special Judge (NIA Act) Vinod Kumar Dewangan passed the order on March 14 and a copy of it was made available on March 15.
Besides Ms. Sori, the court also acquitted her activist nephew Lingaram Kodopi, construction contractor B.K. Lala and the then Essar company official D.V.C.S. Verma, citing the prosecution has not been successful in proving the charges levelled against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, their lawyer Kshitij Dubey said on March 16.
Therefore, in the absence of corroborative evidence, the accused are acquitted, the court said in the 76-page order.
Ms. Sori and Mr. Kodopi were arrested on charges of acting as Maoist conduits who had allegedly received ‘protection money’ for the rebels from the company.
They were booked under Indian Penal Code section 124 (A) (sedition), 121 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against Government of India), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.
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