Mumbai, June 20 -- A Special CBI Court in Mumbai acquitted all nine accused, including former union minister and ex-MP Padamsinh Patil, in the 2006 murder case of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, citing lack of sufficient evidence to establish the prosecution's case beyond reasonable doubt.
Special Judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar granted the accused the benefit of doubt and held that the testimony of the approver could not be relied upon without independent corroboration. The court also observed that the prosecution had failed to establish a complete chain of circumstances linking the accused to the alleged conspiracy.
The case relates to the killing of Nimbalkar and his driver Abdul Samad Kazi on June 3, 2006, when unidentified ...