Court acquits 4 in Adnan murder case

More than four years after city teenager Adnan Patrawala was killed,a Sessions court acquitted four of the five accused of all charges. The fifth is being tried under Juvenile laws as he was a minor at the time of the murder

More than four years after city teenager Adnan Patrawala was killed,a Sessions court on Monday acquitted four of the five accused of all charges. The fifth is being tried under Juvenile laws as he was a minor at the time of the murder.

Rejecting the prosecution theory,the court observed that the chain of events as narrated by the prosecution did not attract enough credibility and could not be relied upon. With the chain of circumstances not being proven in court,the case has gone in favour of the defence, said defence counsel Ashish Chavan.

IT professional Sujit Nair,student and musician Ayush Bhat,a businessmans son Rajiv Dhariya and autorikshaw driver Amit Kaushal,were the four adults accused in the case. All of them were booked under several sections of the IPC for murder,extortion,conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

The judgment will be referred to by the Juvenile Justice Board and is expected to have an impact on the case of the juvenile accused.

According to the prosecution,16-year-old Adnan,from an affluent family,met the accused at a gaming parlour at Inorbit Mall in Malad. Adnan,still in college,had made friends with the accused on the social networking site Orkut and would meet them often at the mall. On August 18,2007,according to the police,the accused kidnapped Adnan and called up his father demanding Rs 2 crore as ransom. But Adnans body was found in Navi Mumbai the next day. He had been strangled to death.

Shocked,disappointed at verdict: father

Adnan Patrawalas father,Aslam,said he was very disappointed with the court verdict. I was sure that they would be convicted as they had not just confessed to the crime but also pointed out the evidence themselves. I am shocked, he said. Adnans mother,Lubna,said: Our lives froze on the day Adnan was kidnapped. The four acquitted by the court have snatched my son from me. If not the court,Allah will punish them.