Cuttack: A trial court here has acquitted gangster Raja Acharya in a firing case of 1994 in which a local businessman Dinesh Thakur was critically injured.
In her judgment yesterday, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Geeta Mohanty exonerated Acharya of attempt to murder and extortion charges framed against him by Malgodown police.
Lack of evidence and prefabricated statements of prosecution witnesses were the grounds on which the Magistrate relied upon to absolve Acharya of the charges.
Besides being charged under several sections of IPC, Acharya was also booked under the Arms Act.
The prosecution case was that Acharya had allegedly demanded extortion money from Thakur, who used to operate a popular snacks outlet at College Square. When Thakur refused to pay up, Acharya allegedly barged into his outlet on July 4, 1994 and fired at Thakur.
With two bullet injuries in his abdomen and left thigh, Thakur was rushed to nearby SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Acharya was arrested by the city police almost two weeks after the incident.
