Orissa: Ten accused of being Maoists freed by court

Ten persons, accused of being Maoists and involved in the killing of a police sub-inspector and a Central Reserve Police Force jawan, were acquitted by a court in Rourkela.

Additional district judge of the fast-track court Gopabandhu Patnaik acquitted them on Wednesday for lack of evidence in the killing of sub-inspector Ajit Bardhan and CRPF man Abdul Rafiq in July 2009.

According to the prosecution, 30 people were arrested in connection with the killing of the SI on July 16, 2009 in Silipunji forest in Banei sub-division of Sundargarh district.

His body was found the next day. The CRPF man was killed in a landmine blast while a search was going on for the SI.

Of the 10, eight were released from jail and two others remained behind bars in other cases.

Earlier, 20 of the accused in the case were acquitted by the court in August