The Third Additional District Court in Gobichettipalayam, Erode district acquitted all nine people accused in the abduction of Kannada actor Rajkumar and three others by forest brigand Veerappan and his associates in 2000.

Delivering the judgement here on Tuesday, September 25, 2018, judge K. Mani said that the no inquiry was conducted with Rajkumar after his release or his wife Parvathamma, a key witness in the case to establish that the accused were involved in the crime.

Also, the two did not participate in the identification parade to identify the accused. The judge also said that Parvathamma did not lodge a complaint with Talavadi police nor relatives of the three persons who were also abducted did not lodge complaint. The judge said that no searches were conducted in the accused house to seize weapons or other evidence in the case.

The judge also said that audio cassettes demanding ransom were not produced in court and other evidences were submitted to the court after 10 months. The Supreme Court has clearly stated that evidence, including weapons, should be sealed on the crime spot and be submitted to the court. But in this case, the weapons were not sealed on the spot, the judge observed.

The judge said that the prosecution failed to prove that the nine accused had any connection with Veerappan in the abduction, as no witness or evidence were produced in the court. Giving the benefit of doubt to the accused, all the nine were acquitted, the judge said.