India, Aug. 7 -- A special NIA court has pardoned a surrendered Maoist, allowing him to turn approver in the trial of the November 2023 murder of Gadchiroli youth Dinesh Pusu Gawade. The youth was abducted and killed allegedly by the banned CPI (Maoist) on suspicion of being a police informer.

The court on Thursday held that the prosecution, despite examining 20 witnesses, had no eyewitness to the incident and relied mainly on circumstantial evidence, making the proposed approver's testimony crucial to the case. It also found that his alleged role in the crime was "passive and peripheral" compared to that of four other accused facing trial.

Special Judge Chakor S Baviskar allowed the NIA's application seeking pardon for the accused Maoi...